A delegation from the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) will arrive on Tuesday (tomorrow) to enhance bilateral trade and investment cooperation, Oman News Agency (ONA) reported.
The delegation led by OCCI Chairman Redha Al-Saleh will meet with officials from the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and the chambers of commerce and industry in the cities of Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.
Al-Saleh said the visit has been organised to “to enhance aspects of trade and investment cooperation, increase trade exchange between the Sultanate of Oman and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and create commercial partnerships between private sector institutions and companies in the two countries.”
During the five-day trip, the Omani delegation will visit a number of industrial areas and Pakistani companies related to the pharmaceutical and food sectors.
According to ONA, the main exports from Pakistan to the Sultane are food, fruits and vegetables, and pipes used in oil and gas transmission lines. Oman’s main exports to Pakistan are polypropylene, oil and gas, and household appliances. The value of imports from Pakistan was about $162 million in 2019, while exports were of $145 million.
Pakistan has been seeking to have a preferential trade agreement with Oman. The prime minister’s adviser for commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood said in September the country is going to pursue such deals also with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as talks on an agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council remain stalled.
The GCC, which includes those three countries plus Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, started free trade talks with Pakistan in 2004. It has not implemented a free trade deal since 2015. —TLTP
