PRESS RELEASE

On the third working day of his official visit to the US, the Federal Minister for Commerce Mr. Humayun Akhtar Khan started his schedule with a breakfast media availability with major US wire and print media journalists. Later on the Minister met with a select panel of trade specialists and scholars in residence at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). In the afternoon the Minister met with Senator Sam Brownback (Republican-Kansas), Member Commerce, Science and Transportation, Foreign Relations, Judiciary and Joint Economic Committees of the Senate and ended his day.s engagements by having a media availability luncheon meeting with Pakistani and Pakistani-American media at the Embassy. The Ambassador of Pakistan, Mr. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi accompanied the Minister to all his engagements.

In the media availability events with the US and Pakistani and Pakistani-American wire and print journalists, the Minister briefed them on the background of Pakistan.s trade policy, economic developments and his meetings. In the question and answer period the Minister dwelled upon the current state of the textile and apparel industry, issues of quotas and tariffs, US-Pakistan bilateral trade and commercial relations, US and EU enhanced market access relief extended to Pakistan after the events of 9-11, prospects and implications of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and issues under discussion before the WTO Cancun Ministerial Round.

In his meetings with the AEI and Senator Brownback, the Minister explained Pakistan.s unique position between and betwixt that of not being a Less Developed Country (LDC) and the impending non-quota and non-FTA post-Multi Fiber Agreement period coupled with the strategy of the government to focus on tariff reduction so as to have a level playing field. The Minister advocated the case for an interim preferential tariff arrangement with the US since Pakistan was at a tariff disadvantage vis-à-vis other trading partners of the US. The discussion with the trade specialists at the AEI focused on the strategy and sequencing of interim tariff reduction measures, US market analysis of apparel consumption, prospects for export led growth for Pakistan, Indo-Pakistan trade relations in the backdrop of the recent moves at rapprochement in the region and Sino-Pakistan commercial ties. The Minister also explained the security and international economic environment of Pakistan while also sensitizing his interlocutors to public perceptions in the Muslim world in general and Pakistan in particular. Minister Khan stated that the prospects of signing a TIFA with the US in the near future looked promising and that the US needed to approach trade and commercial relations with Pakistan from a national security perspective since job creation and employment through export led growth was of vital importance to the overall well being of Pakistan. The Minister also highlighted the significant economic progress made by Pakistan specifically in the fields of deregulation, privatization and liberalization of the economy. He also emphasized the fact that Pakistan was amongst the few countries that had opened its service sector to FDI and had succeeded in attracting foreign investment in the banking, telecommunications and oil and gas sectors.

The Minster.s US interlocutors appreciated the fact that the US was Pakistan.s largest trading partner and that Pakistan was earnestly improving the international competitiveness of its export sector. They were also cognizant of and supported the efforts that the government had undertaken and remained committed to meaningful, robust and viable reform measures to change the economic landscape of the country in a challenging regional security environment. They also agreed with the Minister that the US should be seen as also helping the people of Pakistan and now that fiscal stability had been achieved the focus should be on growth, job creation and sustainable development. The AEI discussion participants offered possible solutions for Pakistan.s trade strategy and ways and means to go proceed with a tariff reduction process with the US both bilaterally and multilaterally under the WTO. Senator Brownback concurred with the Minister that on the bilateral side there was a definite need to push forward on many fronts especially the economic one so that the lot of the Pakistani people can be bettered. The Senator who has consistently supported Pakistan in the past, agreed that additional market access was a valid issue and was optimistic that after signing of the TIFA, additional common ground could be discovered that would enhance the export potential of Pakistan.

The Minister in all his meeting emphasized that fact that his visit to the US primarily aimed at speeding up the signing of the TIFA as well as preparing the ground for the President of Pakistan.s upcoming visit in the third week of June.

Washington, DC
June10, 2003