KARACHI: Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastagir Khan said on Friday that Pakistan and Thailand will soon start talks on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

He further said that his ministry would aggressively pursue trade diplomacy over the year ahead to ensure easy access to Pakistani exporters in lucrative international and regional markets.

Pakistan will initiate trade dialogue with Asean, a 10-member bloc of East Asian countries, to get status of ‘Full Dialogue Partner’ by 2018. This will set the stage for a full fledged FTA with Asean which will open up huge markets for Pakistan.

Negotiations with Japan and South Korea are also under way. Dastagir disclosed that Korean Minister for Trade has invited him, says a press release.

The minister’s visit to South Korea is expected in the second half of this calendar year.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2015

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