ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Brazil are moving forward in further deepening their bilateral relations in all fields, especially in commerce and trade, Commerce Secretary Muhammad Younus Dagha said on Monday.
“A number of memorandums of understanding (MoU) and agreements have already been signed between the two countries, while several more are being finalised by the two sides,” he said on the culmination of his two-day official visit to Brazil.
According to a message received here from Brazil, he expressed satisfaction over the outcome of his substantial and meaningful meetings with the high government officials of Brazil.
Dagha said both sides had looked into ways and means to increase bilateral trade and investment for the mutual benefit of peoples of the two countries.
Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Brazil has increased over the last four years by 100 per cent from $ 225 million in 2013-14 to $ 449 million in 2016-17. Presently, Pakistan has a negative trade balance with Brazil amounting to -$ 359 million in FY17 with exports of $ 44.5 million and imports of $ 404 million.
Pakistan’s main exports to Brazil are in articles of apparel, home textiles, surgical goods, cotton fabrics and yarn, articles of cutlery and sports goods whereas Pakistan’s main imports are in Soybeans, raw cotton, iron and steel, soybean oil and machinery.
On December 14, in Brasilia, Secretary General Marcos Galvao warmly received the secretary commerce at the Brazilian Foreign Office.
Terming the visit of secretary commerce “timely”, Galvao hoped for frequent high-level interaction between the two countries.
Both the sides reviewed bilateral relations in all fields, especially in the trade and investment domains. Referring to the on-going cooperation between the two friendly countries, the need for early finalisation of bilateral agreements such as Agreement on Technical Cooperation and establishment of Joint Commission was emphasised.
Dagha also underlined the importance of early start of negotiation on Pakistan’s PTA with MERCOSUR.
The Secretary-General stated that MERCOSUR partners could appropriately engage Pakistan as the Forum was now looking forward to interacting with countries outside South America to promote trade and investment relations.
In his meeting with Undersecretary General Ambassador Santiago Mourao, the two sides took stock of matters concerning technical cooperation, trade and investment while exploring ways and means to further deepen cooperation between the two countries.
The two sides stressed the need to have productive and synergised interaction in providing a framework to the private sector for enhancing bilateral trade and economic relations.
During the meeting with his counterpart from the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy, Paulo Pedrosa, Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary offered profitable and secured investment to Brazilian businessmen in Pakistan.
Various investment opportunities available in the energy sector, ranging from generation, transmission to the exploitation of sources of clean renewable energy were also discussed.
Both the sides also agreed to collaborate closely in mines and energy sectors; learn from each other’s experiences; share technological expertise, and explore the possibility of investment in relevant sectors.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Brazil Najam us Saqib accompanied the Secretary Commerce in all his official engagements with the high officials of the government of Brazil.
The first ever official visit of Secretary Commerce of Pakistan to Brazil provided an opportunity for both countries to discuss and review bilateral relations in all fields, the press release added.
