Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Trade between Indonesia and Pakistan grew positively during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2019 to 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.

The bilateral trade was discussed in a meeting between Indonesian Consul General in Karachi June Kuncoro Hadiningrat and Chairman of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Shariq Vohra, at the KCCI office recently.

The consul general appreciated the cooperation with the KCCI, while stressing that the Indonesian government is always ready to facilitate the chamber in an effort to expand the business connection between Pakistani entrepreneurs and their Indonesian counterparts.

Meanwhile, Shariq Vohra highlighted the important role of the KCCI in Pakistan's economy with more than 22,000 members with a significant contribution to the national tax revenue of 70 percent.

The KCCI also contributes 90 percent of Sindh province's tax revenue.

At the meeting, the two parties also discussed the process of upgrading the Indonesia-Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the importance of marketing Indonesia's leading commodities such as coal, textiles and tea in Pakistan, as well as Indonesia's outbound investment in Pakistan.

Reporting by Indonesia Window