Through a letter, the Ministry of Commerce has asked the TDAP to examine trade potential and current situation of export to the country, to discuss it in the 9th session of Pak-Iraq Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) to be held in Baghdad shortly. The JMC session was going to be held after 9 years as its 8th session was held in 2001.
Despite, much improvement of the law and order situation in Iraq, the concerned authorities here have done no practical work for diversifying the trade relations with Baghdad. While Iraq was speedily developing its infrastructure and institutions, devastated by the US war, it was pursuing a strategy to gain foreign participation in joint ventures with state-owned enterprises.
According to sources, Pakistan was yet to approach the potential market of Baghdad for marketing of its products such as rice, wheat, pharmaceutical items, fruits and cement, which have a high demand in the country. But other countries, particularly Turkey was benefiting the most as it took various steps to pump its products in the war-torn country.
Although, they said, the normalcy has returned, Pakistan was yet to have its functional embassy in Baghdad to enhance bilateral trade relations. An honorary consul general has, however been appointed by the country in Baghdad, but the trade relations between the two countries were still being co-ordinated by Pak embassy in Iran.
The country's current exporting products to Iraq, including engineering products, chemicals, sports goods, rice, textiles & surgical instruments were mostly exported via Amman, Turkey and Kuwait. Pakistan, despite having a bumper crop of rice could not attract the potential market in Iraq for lack of efforts on the part of concerned authorities, sources said.
As Iraq has huge demand of cement in the rehabilitation process, Pakistan could generate good revenue by exporting cement to the war-torn country, they added. Besides, they said, Pakistan could also construct the oil refineries of Baghdad, which have been affected badly after the US war. Pakistan could also convince the country to hire its expertise of shipyard activation, which Baghdad needed for improving its trade via sea routes.
They said, despite the high potential market, Pakistani share of export to Iraq was only over $24 million out of Baghdad's total import of $43.5 billion in 2008. According to sources, the trade promotion efforts in Iraq had almost come to a halt since the Baghdad Trade Fair in November 2002, due to the unfavourable security situation in Iraq and no exhibition were organised in the foreign country for the last eight years.
However, TDAP has been participating in different exhibition held in the adjoining countries - Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain from 2004 to 2007, for indirectly promotion of Pakistani commodities in Iraq. Identifying the available and emerging market opportunities in Iraq, sources said a number of steps were needed to be taken including the regular meeting of JMC, restoration of Pak-Iraq Business Council, visits of trade delegations from both countries and early establishment of Commercial Counsellor offices in Baghdad etc.
In the previous JMC session, held here, both the countries had agreed to enhance the volume of bilateral trade and co-operation in various fields. Pakistan was offered to supply wheat and more rice and raw materials in various fields to Iraq.