US and Pak agree to expand bilateral trade, investment flows

Washington: US and Pakistan have agreed on a joint action plan to expand the bilateral trade and investment flows over next five years, including diversifying agricultural production and enhancing intellectual property protection.  A decision in this regard was taken by the US Trade Representatives, Michael Froman, and the Pakistani Commerce Minister, Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan, during a meeting of the US-Pak Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on Tuesday. During the TIFA meeting, which is primary mechanism for both Parties to discuss trade and investment issues and focus on ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship, the two leaders discussed a variety of trade and investment issues and to chart a path forward on improving bilateral trade and investment flows over the next five years, a press release said. Among the areas of co-operation included in the Joint Action Plan are diversifying agricultural production, enhancing intellectual property protection, implementing the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement, engaging on Pakistan’s accession to the WTO Government, Procurement Agreement, increasing trade in services, outreach to US State and Local Governments, promoting entrepreneurship and increasing dialogue between the private sectors. Both governments will immediately begin work on implementing the Joint Action Plan. The US and Pakistan established a bilateral working group to meet regularly to oversee implementation of the Joint Action Plan and to monitor progress in specific areas, the official statement said. At the TIFA Council Meeting, the US and Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Joint Efforts to Empower Women and to Promote Women’s Entrepreneurship. The MOU will provide a mechanism for discussion on how to help ensure that women participate fully in the economy and have access to economic, as well as trade and investment, opportunities. PTI