— Official says Saudi Arabia will get same trade facilities as China

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) agreed on Wednesday to negotiate on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with an aim to increase trade volume between the two brotherly countries.

“Pakistan offered Saudi Arabia to negotiate on the FTA directly or to sign preferential trade agreement (PTA) first for mutual trade opportunities in each other’s markets,” said Commerce Secretary Muhammad Younas Dhaga in a briefing to the Arab trade and investment delegation.

The Pakistan side on the occasion was represented by officials from the Ministry and Board of Investment (BOI) whereas Ahmad Al –Ghamdi was heading the delegation from the Saudi Arabian side.

Both sides discussed the comparative advantages of FTA between the two countries and also deliberated on ways to further negotiate on tariff lines to provide mutual opportunities in trade and investment.

During the negotiations, Younas Dhaga said that Pakistan would give same trade facilities to Saudi Arabia as it had offered to China in FTA and Indonesia in PTA.

The commerce secretary said that Pakistan wanted to increase bilateral trade in the areas of textiles, leather, sports, and medicine so that it could increase access to the Middle Eastern markets.

He said that Saudi Arabia was a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) while Pakistan was already engaged in negotiation with the GCC countries to increase trade volume.

Saudi Arabian Adviser on Energy, Industries and Mining Ahmad Al-Ghamdi also agreed to initiate a feasibility study and recommended further negotiations on the FTA to ensure trade liberalization.

He said that Saudi Arabia was interested to increase trade with Pakistan in the food and chemical sectors. “We will negotiate on Pakistan’s proposal on FTA. A thorough study from experts are needed to further negotiate on FTA between the two nations,” he said.

After the meeting, the Saudi Arabian adviser said in a media interview that Saudi Arabia was interested in establishing an oil refinery in Gwadar and his delegation visited the proposed place to work on the project.

He informed that both countries would sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish the oil refinery and mineral exploration centre during the current visit of Saudi delegation.

He said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have a history of diplomatic and political relations, which need to convert into strong economic and trade bonds.