Ayesha Saba

Even though Pakistan maintains friendly relations with African countries, its mutual trade figures with the continent remain modest.

Mohamed Karmoune, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco and Dean of the African Corps, has said that the Africa Continental Free Trade Area comprising 55 countries with a population of around 1.4 billion holds tremendous economic prospects for Pakistan, and that the private sector should take benefit of it by enhancing trade cooperation with African countries.

He stressed that Pakistani business community needed to explore joint ventures and investments in Africa, which he described as the continent of the future. He highlighted agriculture, industry, mining, information technology, renewable energy, textiles, pharmaceuticals, transport, tourism and infrastructure as potential areas of cooperation between Pakistan and African countries.

Areeba Arif, a research associate at the Centre of Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, told WealthPK that since Pakistan's commitment to developing commercial relations with other countries has shifted from geopolitics to geo-economics, the country’s ability to discover its untapped economic potential has been enhanced.

“Geostrategic significance varies between Pakistan and African nations. Africa is ideally located for global trade. Pakistan and Africa share many commonalities. Both regions have suffered greatly in the past in terms of poverty, inflation, unemployment, etc. Both are working to strengthen their regions in an effort to meet these challenges.”

She further said that the African continent holds a lot of promise for the future owing to its growth potential, abundant natural resources, lucrative investment opportunities, and an ever-increasing youth population. The trade relations between Pakistan and African nations, despite their cordial relations, depict a dismal image, she added.

According to UN COMTRADE, Pakistan’s top trading partners from the last five years include the US, the UK, China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Areeba Arif added that a major reason for Pakistan's low export performance is the country’s overreliance on traditional markets and products. “To create relevant and friendly ties with African markets, Pakistan needs to implement non-traditional methods of marketing. Emerging economies such as Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia pursued an export and market diversification strategy. Pakistan should also traverse on a similar path by transitioning from traditional markets to structured and non-traditional markets.”

“Pakistan has the potential and capacity for exports in a number of sectors. In order to make the economy more sustainable, Pakistan’s investors and manufacturers need to come up with innovative ideas. Nevertheless, policy-making decisions combined with a mindful approach will have a significant impact at this stage,” she stressed.

However, in the wake of changing global scenario, she said the government has started to focus on non-traditional markets such as Africa. The “Look Africa Policy” of the Ministry of Commerce is reflective of government’s shifting policy focus.

The “Look Africa Policy” was initiated in 2017, which selected 10 countries, including Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Ethiopia and South Africa, for promoting and doubling the trade by the year 2025.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk