By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Pakistan, Mr. Suh Sangpyo has said that bilateral relations between Korea and Pakistan are at a turning point as the two countries will celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year.
He was speaking at a seminar organized by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Pakistan, on the theme “40 Years of Diplomatic Relations between Pakistan and Korea: Trade, Investment and human resources” at PIDE, Islamabad on Thursday.
Suh Sangpyo said that regarding regulations and ease of doing business, Pakistan is moving in the right direction. Small Korean companies face contract issues, but large companies have different experiences. “Korean companies are helping Pakistani companies to improve their quality and capacity,” he added.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Vice Chancellor of PIDE Dr. Nadeem ul Haque said that the economic ties between Pakistan and Korea remain strong despite these difficult economic times. In this global village, both countries must work together. There are lessons to be learned from Korea’s economic strength, and PIDE is an excellent platform to strengthen ties between the two.
During his presentation, Dr. Muhammad Zeeshan, Research Fellow, PIDE, said that Korean economy has an excellent balance between import and export, even though export volume is much larger than imports. He added that Korea’s GDP is five times that of Pakistan. Pakistan needs to focus on maximising the volume of exports and reducing imports. Currently, Pakistan only export clothes, fish, and cotton to Korea and import automobiles from Korea. There is a dire need to increase our exports.
Turning a trade deficit into a trade surplus is only possible by correcting our shortcomings. “Our trade deficit is increasing because of our destructive policies and practices. Pakistan cannot achieve a trade surplus with this performance; we can overcome the trade deficit through an enabling environment for local and foreign investors,” he added.
Asif Khan of the Board of Investment (BOI) has said that they are working on regulatory modernisation to remove regulatory bodies that are a trade barrier to direct or indirect investment. He added that the investment council had reformed 115 departments and 31 different sectors under PRMI (Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative) to bring FDI into Pakistan and help local investors. Nasir Kashani from the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC) said that Korea had increased the work permit quota from 1100 to 2400 for Pakistan. Pakistanis are allowed to work in Korea through this system.
Moon Young Kim, Managing Director of Korea Trade Investment Promotion Company (KOTRA), said that many Korean manufacturing companies are working in Pakistan. He suggested establishing an ombudsman office in Pakistan to easily access the Prime Minister’s office. He also added that it was necessary to improve the accessibility of markets with other countries in Central Asia and Africa. According to Mr Kim, the laws in Pakistan are good, but implementation is an issue.
The Board of Investment (BOI), the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC), and the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Company (KOTRA) expressed interest in joining the joint collaborative initiative between PIDE and the Korean Embassy in Pakistan.
A large number of representatives from different Korean companies working in Pakistan also participated in the event.
