Prime Minister’s adviser for Trade and Investment, Abdul Razaq Dawood, said on Thursday that for the first time, Pakistan’s exports reached $31.3 billion, attributing the success to the current government’s prudent policies.
At a press conference here, the consultant said that despite Covid-19, exports witnessed about 18 percent growth during the fiscal year 2020-21 compared to the previous year (2019-20), while the growth percentage was highest in regional economies, including India and Bangladesh; “We left deindustrialization and moved into a growth phase and reached the largest number of exports in the country’s economic history,” he said.
He said that in the last month of June 2020-21, domestic exports were worth $2.7 billion. Likewise, Information Technology (IT) exports remained above $2 billion in the last fiscal year. The adviser also said that the government would sign a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Uzbekistan on July 15 of this year, 2021 to increase regional connectivity and promote free trade in regional countries.
He said that in the last month of June 2020-21, domestic exports were worth $2.7 billion. Likewise, Information Technology (IT) exports remained above $2 billion in the last fiscal year. The adviser also said that the government would sign a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Uzbekistan on July 15 of this year, 2021 to increase regional connectivity and promote free trade in regional countries.
The adviser said that during the 2020-21 exit fiscal year, the country’s merchandise exports were at $25.3 billion, while services exports reached $6 billion.
Moreover, The adviser said that to promote regional trade, Pakistan is also committed to increasing transit trade with Afghanistan and willing to sign the Preferential Trade Agreement with Afghanistan.
The consultant said that through the ‘Silk Road Reconnection Policy’, “we are engaging with Central Asian Countries (CARs) and starting from Uzbekistan to engage the region with economic and trade integration.”
When talking about the ‘Tariff Rationalization’ movement that started over the past three years, he said that the government was working on ‘Tariff Rationalization’ and had plans to adopt the rationalization of 4,000 tariff lines in the next financial year of 2022.
