Pakistan should develop deeper trade, investment and economic ties with SCO member states

KARACHI: Pakistan should strongly work to enhance its trade, investment, and economic relations with the SCO member states since the entire group collectively boasts a gross domestic product of $20 trillion, says Ahmad Jawad, vice president of Pakistan Business Forum.

Jawad said that engaging with such a massive economic bloc would help Pakistan get over its economic woes if real efforts are made to take advantage of the opportunities in which the SCO presents. He also highlighted how the SCO could help create confidence among member and regional countries for peace, security, and stability through the resolution of mutual issues.

Pakistan can act as a trade and energy corridor connecting SCO states with South Asia. Jawad also said it is very important to keep the Russia policy consistent by moving it in tandem with Pakistan’s politico-strategic interests, elaborating on the need to concentrate on Afghanistan, more importantly post-2014, when the SCO could play an immense role in rebuilding and rehabilitating the country.

He should call on Pakistan to reorient priorities and engage more constructively with Russia, and to redefine new objectives unfettered by mistrust promoted by the Cold War era. He emphasizes that both countries share a history of mutual assistance and indicate a strong desire to continue cooperation.

The sectors for which economic cooperation stands strong are energy, heavy industry, automobiles, aircraft manufacture, textiles, and agriculture. According to the President of PBF Karachi Malik Khuda Baksh, Central Asia had strategic reasons to engage with Pakistan as they bordered each other geographically and, therefore, were sharing hydrocarbon resources. He had proposed road and rail links to support trade and commercial relations, thus turning the mutual relationship between the countries into active cooperation.

The conclusion has been that the SCO can play an important role in strengthening ties between member states by enhancing trade opportunities not only between Pakistan and Central Asia but also with the wider SCO community.