FPCCI calls for removing trade barriers among countries

The President FPCCI Abdul Rauf Alam will participate in Executive Committee and General Assembly meeting of Islamic Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) this month at Jeddah. The President FPCCI mentioned the objective of his participation to highlight problems, obstacles and measures to boost trade among Muslim countries.

Rauf Alam informed that the Executive Committee of Islamic CCI will discuss intra-OIC trade, enhancing productivity and competitiveness, diversification and value addition products, free export processing zones, promotion of inter-OIC investment in public and private sectors and enhance the share of intra-OIC trade to 25% in the global trade.

While discussing the global share of trade pertains to Muslim countries, he said that the trade among the Muslim countries is currently 19% of global trade. He said that this share was 15% in 2005 which indicates a slight improvement of 4% in the time span more than 10 years. He informed that mutual trade volume between EU member countries is 64% of global trade, NAFTA share is 49% ASEAN share is 25% of the global trade. He indicated that trade between Muslim countries is much lower despite of the fact considering it largest block of the world in terms of number of countries.

While discussing the trade relations among the Muslim countries, he referred the report of ICDT and said that according to this report the main obstacles to the development of intra-OIC exports are the cost of developing new market, foreign exchange risks, the cost or supply of labour, regulation of foreign government, the collection of information on member states markets getting licenses or bonds and local partners.

Rauf Alam further said that the more interesting fact that share of trade of Muslim countries with EU countries is 20% and with China it is 13%. He said that main export of Muslim countries is minerals, fuel while main imports are machineries, boilers and electrical apparatus. He further informed that UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arab, Indonesia and Malaysia covers more than 50% of intra OIC trade out of 57 member countries of OIC. More than 90% of non-oil and nongas trade belongs to D8 countries with Muslim World.

Rauf Alam, President FPCCI who is also holding office of Presidency of ECO CCI and Chairmanship of D-8 CCI said that Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, and Egypt are included in those countries which are facing the largest number of trade obstacles from their partner countries. Majority of those obstacles and non-tariff measures have been imposed on Muslim countries by their partner countries, he added.

He said that this has become major responsibility of OIC, ICCI, ECO and D8 is to remove trade obstacles among the partner countries and expressed his confidence that these platforms will get success to remove non-tariff barriers and economic and trade activities will be flourished.