Immediate implementation of OIC's Trade preferential System is required: PBIF

President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President AKIA, Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said that Trade Preferential System of Organization of Islamic Cooperation came into force in 2002 with objective to make Islamic Countries prosper, developed and more closer. 41 countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Bangladesh, Qatar, Malaysia and Oman are currently members of OIC-TPS.

Trade Preferential System among the Member States of the OIC (TPS-OIC) is one of the most important projects of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) to foster intra-OIC trade. In order to make the TPS-OIC system operational, 10 Member States have to fulfil two conditions at the same time, namely the ratification of the three TPS-OIC Agreements and the submission of the list of concessions to the TNC Secretariat. As of December 2014, required number of countries having met necessary requirements of the System has been reached.

However, for the entry into force of the System there are some practical steps that should be taken by the participating member states. The most important step in this context is updating the concession lists. By December 2017, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, Jordan, Bangladesh, Iran and Morocco have conveyed their updated concession lists for early implementation of Trade Preferential System.

The veteran business leader while talking to the business community said 57 countries included in the OIC has the GDP of USD 690 billion which is 9 percent of the World, exports are 12 percent while imports are 10 percent of the World, while GDP growth rate of Islamic countries has been 5.5 to 6 percent.

Mian Zahid Hussain said with implementation of TPS-OIC, economic, industrial and trade activities will grow and bonding between the brotherly Islamic countries will get more strengthen, which is need of the time. Government in this regard is requested to take immediate measures for the implementation of Trade Preferential System for forming an economically strong and prosper Islamic Block in the World.