Pakistan, Africa could take benefit of BRI: Abdul Razak Dawood

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said on Thursday that Pakistan and African countries could take benefit of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), ARY News reported.

Abdul Razak Dawood, while addressing Envoys’ Conference entitled ‘Engage Africa’ in Islamabad, said that Pakistan could export rice, engineering, foods, electronic equipment, pharmaceutical products, sports items, surgical instruments and cutlery to African states.

He detailed that the effective policies envisage by the federal government will double trade volume between Pakistan and Africa within the next six years. Abdul Razak Dawood added that the current trade volume stands at $4.28 billion in a year.

The adviser announced that the next Africa conference will be held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, between January 30-31 next year. He said that the upcoming conference would be first of its kind under the Africa policy which will gather stakeholders and promote trade.

Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Senegal, Sudan and Tanzania will also witness enhancement of trade activities through the conference, he added.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that Pakistan has political ties with African countries and also increasing its military cooperation with the states, ARY News reported.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the statement while addressing the inauguration ceremony of a two-day conference for envoys from the African countries in Islamabad today.

The foreign minister said that Africa will be proved as South Asia in future in term of development. Pakistan and the region are facing different challenges including security. He added that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Africa is currently standing at more than $2 trillion and the growth rate of the states are consistently rising.

Qureshi said, “Pakistan has political ties with African countries and its security officials playing a key role in peace establishment in the continent. Pakistan is increasing its military cooperation with the states, whereas, more than 700 diplomatic officials are being trained in Islamabad.”