ISLAMABAD

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal on Friday said that Pakistan is keen to finalise Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with South Korea to explore new avenues to increase bilateral trade volume.
Ahsan Iqbal expressed these views in meeting with First Vice Minister of South Korea Lim Sungnam who called on him here. Both sides agreed to enhance the bilateral trade volume, which presently stands at $1 billion annually as well as working towards early finalisation of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and South Korea.
The South Korean First Minister along with his delegation discussed the issues of mutual interest particularly in the field of economic cooperation and partnership between the two countries.
Korean Minister assured to work towards early finalisation of FTA. Ahsan Iqbal also sought the help of South Korea to develop industrial parks, which he said was part of Motorway project. Unfortunately, the project was shattered when PML-N government was toppled in 1999. Korean First Vice Minister assured that Korean government would look into the proposal.
The Planning Minister said that one of the flagship projects is Malakand Tunnel project, whose feasibility has been completed. South Korea can help Pakistan to construct this tunnel at its earliest.
“Pakistan and South Korea have a long history of partnership in economic field. We are appreciative of economic support South Korea extended to Pakistan on various occasions particularly in the time of crisis. Korea is a very huge visibility in terms of cooperation in infrastructure development. The first phase of Motorway was constructed by a Korean company. We hope to further enhance cooperation with Korea in infrastructure development and energy in future.
Minister also sought the help of South Korea for developing and upgrading the SME, engineering and rural economy sectors, in which it has done marvelously over the years. Minister also informed the Korean delegation about the construction of Diamar-Bhasha Dam and Dasu Dam, which he said are aimed at ensuring the food, energy and water security in the country. Pakistan is currently facing serious challenges of energy, water and food and these projects are necessary because in the last three decades, no big dam was built in the country.
Ahsan Iqbal said that apart from partnership in economic field, Pakistan is keen in knowledge sharing area with Korea. We want to learn from the experiences and achievements of South Korea in economic development and advancement areas.