A fruitful relationship

SAARC countries have realised the need to reinvigorate trade within the regional bloc, both bilaterally and multilaterally. Sri Lanka has played a pioneering role in this regard, signing Free Trade Agreements with both India and Pakistan, the biggest economies in SAARC.

The FTA with Pakistan was signed in February 2005 and it will take some time before its effects are felt on both sides. But even without an FTA, trade between the two countries has increased over the years.

Trade between Sri Lanka and Pakistan hit the highest figure for five years in 2003-04 reaching US $ 146.26 million, while an over 50 per cent growth was registered in the Pakistan imports to Sri Lanka during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (2004-05) over the corresponding period last year. Pakistan imports to Sri Lanka has exceeded US $ 28.6 million as compared to US $ 18.7 million the corresponding period last year.

With the full implementation of the FTA, these figures will increase drastically. Guaranteed duty free access to hundreds of items in both Islamabad and Colombo will benefit traders in the two countries.

But trading volumes cannot go up without the active involvement of the ordinary consumer. This is where Pakistan's first-ever single country exhibition in Sri Lanka, titled 'Pride of Pakistan' comes in. The exhibition will be held from Thursday (28) to Saturday (30).

A range of Pakistan products including textiles, carpets, furniture, machinery, electronics, stationery, juices and fruit preparations, food items, onyx, cosmetic jewellery and handicrafts will be on display. The services sector will also be represented. Pakistani exporters participating in the Exhibition will also hold meetings with the interested Sri Lankan importers to discuss further business deals.

It will only be a matter of time before Sri Lanka organises a similar exhibition in Pakistan, showcasing its own products to the Pakistani public. Some products such as tea are well known to Pakistanis, but there is a gamut of other products that will appeal to consumers there. That brings us to the whole question of people to people contact.

Tourism between the two countries is not at a healthy level right now, with most Sri Lankans preferring India and the UAE over Pakistan. If an awareness campaign is launched on the myriad of attractions and shopping opportunities in Pakistan, more Sri Lankans will travel there. This holds true in reverse as well.

Hopefully, the recently signed Sri Lanka-Pakistan Tourism and Archaeology Agreement will be a shot in the arm for two-way tourism development. The broader objective of the MoU is to strengthen friendly relations through the promotion of mutual understanding of the people through the expansion of cooperation in the fields of tourism and archaeology.

It will also be necessary to commence more frequent and cheaper flights between Colombo and Islamabad to realise these objectives.

This will facilitate easy access to each others' countries for travellers from both countries. Those from third countries will also benefit.

Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the other five SAARC countries must not neglect their regional grouping even as they seek closer bilateral ties. Both bilateral and multilateral ties must be pursued concurrently. They should ultimately aim for a border free, seamlessly integrated SAARC region.