Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation

 Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Secretariat of Asian Development Bank organized a national workshop on Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Secretariat of Asian Development Bank organized a National Workshop on Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement by the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Secretariat of Asian Development Bank in Islamabad with the support of the Economic Affairs Division and Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan. A National Workshop on the Agreement (FTA) was held. According to the statement, the main objective of the workshop was to promote national consensus among CAREC developing member countries (DMC), whose governments are preparing to negotiate a final CAREC-wide FTA. and have expressed keen interest to proceed.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Kazim Niaz, Secretary of, the Economic Affairs Division, and Honorable Yong Yee, Country Director of, the Asian Development Bank. The Secretary of, the Division of Economic Affairs, highlighted that the workshop will enable a deeper understanding of the subject including awareness among a wide range of interested stakeholders, resulting in the CAREC-wide FTA. Therefore, there will be interest and consensus to prepare and move forward with negotiations.
The objective of the workshop is to create awareness among a wide range of stakeholders interested in CAREC, FTA, and the potential benefits of CAREC for the region as a whole. A wide range of stakeholders was discussed. Pakistan's new trade policy focuses on bridging investment gaps in key economic sectors to generate an export surplus, improve market access, and rationalize tariffs. In addition, measures to improve export competitiveness and increase services exports to diversify markets and products should be suggested.
The second part of the workshop dealt with the training of mid-level government officials and aimed to create awareness among policymakers about the potential benefits of a CAREC-wide FTA. The training activity enhanced the capacity of trade officers by providing a brief overview of both substantive and procedural/organizational/strategic aspects of preparing for and completing trade negotiations.