A meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday, decided to establish the Economic Outreach Apex Committee to promote economic diplomacy and also set up the Economic Outreach Coordination Group of relevant ministries. The Prime Minister noted that promotion of economic diplomacy would not only further strengthen the bilateral relations with foreign countries but also take full advantage of the potential in the economic field.
Economic diplomacy is already part and parcel of the overall foreign policy of a country and many nations of the world have gained substantial benefits from aggressive diplomacy in terms of increased exports and investment promotion. In our context as well, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is also a manifestation of economic diplomacy but the fact remains the credit for this goes to China, which remained firmed in its commitment to have more trade and investment with Pakistan despite a phase of lacklustre attitude on our part. It is true that successive governments in the past made some moves aimed at strengthening economic ties with a number of countries and regions through bilateral or multilateral arrangements as well as initiatives like Look-Arab, Look-East and now ‘Engage Africa’ but unfortunately none of these were taken to fruition. The incumbent Government has been in the process of formulating a cohesive plan for promotion of economic diplomacy and Advisor to PM Dr. Moeed Yousaf, who was leading the effort, has rightly been made focal person of the apex committee. Dr Moeed has the necessary vision to translate our dreams in this regard into reality as he has goals of gaining maximum advantage from areas like tourism, information technology, role of Diaspora and overseas Pakistanis, culture, among other areas that have traditionally not been considered in the remit of economic diplomacy. This will be the first time in the country’s history that we will have a dedicated economic diplomacy strategy with a shared vision, framework and goals but it will succeed only if all stakeholders contribute their share for the purpose especially the Foreign Office, our missions abroad, Ministries of Commerce, Finance, National Food Security, Industries, Power and Board of Investment. Much depends on appointment of right people as ambassadors and trade attaches in countries with which Pakistan has the potential to increase trade and attract investment. At the same time, the strategy would remain in the void if we do not encourage increased local production and generation of the necessary surplus for export and this requires emphasis on ease of doing business and bringing the cost of production down to make our products competitive in the international market.
