Pakistan and GCC to sign trade treaty
Daily Times, Pakistan
Pakistan and GCC to sign trade treaty
24 August 2004
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Dr Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) General Secretary Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, will sign a framework economic agreement between Pakistan and the GCC states tomorrow (Thursday).
The GCC states include Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Mr Al-Sabah will arrive in Islamabad tomorrow (Thursday) on a two-day trip to hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart on bilateral ties. The Kuwaiti foreign minister will also meet the prime minister and the president on August 27. He will also meet Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz. A statement from the Foreign Office said that the agreement would help Pakistan and the GCC states promote mutual economic cooperation and exchange information on the subject.
The agreement predicted the promotion of trade between Pakistan and the GCC states under the obligations of the World Treaty Organisation and other international treaties, said the statement, adding that work on the feasibility of a free trade area between Pakistan and the GCC states would be initiated.
A committee would be formed to monitor the implementation of the agreement, said the statement.
Kuwait and Pakistan will sign memoranda of understanding on bilateral political consultations and cooperation in the fight against trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances. A programme of cultural cooperation for 2004-2006 will also be signed.
