Next-door neighbour: Delegation looks to promote rice exports to China

Pakistan is striving to improve its technological and agricultural capacity to increase rice exports in the face of stiff competition. PHOTO:FILE

BEIJING: A delegation of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) arrived in Beijing to explore possibilities of enhancing exports to China. Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khalid hoped that rice exporters will utilise the opportunities China has to offer and contribute in taking Pakistan’s export trade trajectory further upward.

He expressed these views while addressing a reception for the delegation of REAP, led by Chela Ram, senior vice chairman of the association. Khalid said the Pakistani embassy was making every effort to deepen the commercial and trade ties between China and Pakistan and the current visit will complement those efforts.

He pointed out that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has set out a very clear and coherent vision to expand Pakistan’s business, trade, financial and commercial ties with China.

“China is set to invest billions of dollars worldwide in the next few years, as China’s ICBC bank has opened its branches in Pakistan,” said the envoy. “Along with this, we have a free trade agreement, currency swap arrangements and such steps will help promote economic ties between the two countries.”

Khalid said that the country was constantly striving to improve its technological and agricultural capacity to increase volume of its rice exports in the face of stiff competition from its competitors and its rice quality matches the highest international standards.

“We need to make every effort to expand rice exports across the world, particularly to China,” he noted.

Highlighting the importance of trade and economic relations between Pakistan and China, Khalid emphasised the need for further increasing the volume of trade between the two countries, particularly of rice exports.

“I believe that with China’s assistance, Pakistan can achieve a great deal of economic transformation.” Khalid said.

Regarding the REAP delegation’s meeting scheduled for Monday  with the China Oil and Food Corporation (COFCO), Khalid said the COFCO is the largest supplier of diversified products and services in the agricultural products and food industry in China.

He said the Cofco serves as the main importing and exporting channel in China for bulk agricultural products such as wheat, corn, rice and sugar.

He said that in 2012 Pakistan exported rice worth $268 million to China. Out of that COFCO imported 70%, all IRRI-6 variety.

The REAP delegation also planned to travel to other cities, including Guangzhou, to deepen trade cooperation and coordination with their Chinese counterparts.

Pakistani embassies: Fund scarcity scuppers trade promotion plans

Lack of dedicated funds for trade promotion activities at Pakistani embassies impedes enhancement trade with different countries. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: Lack of dedicated funds stops Pakistani embassies abroad from going for promotion and marketing of the country’s goods and services as they get a limited amount to meet administrative expenses only, says Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate to Indonesia Attiya Mahmood.

Speaking at a meeting with businessmen at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Mahmood said the embassies could only facilitate those promotional activities that were either financed by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan or events and exhibitions organised by trade associations.

“Lack of dedicated funds for trade promotion activities at Pakistani embassies acts as one of the key hurdles in the way of enhancing trade with different countries,” she remarked.

Highlighting her planned activities in Indonesia, she said all possible facilities and assistance would be provided to the Pakistani businessmen willing to expand trade with their Indonesian counterparts.

She stressed that the embassy would be playing its role in dispute resolution by taking up issues being faced by the Pakistani business community with local authorities in Indonesia.

She called for enhancing person-to-person and business-to-business interaction between the two countries with a view to maximising bilateral trade.

During recent visit of a KCCI delegation to Indonesia, Chamber President Abdullah Zaki signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jakarta Chamber of Commerce for setting up a joint chamber, which would open new avenues for business communities of both sides.

Responding to concerns over weakening bilateral trade over the past few years, particularly after signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement, Mahmood asked the KCCI’s research cell to identify the causes of the decline and present them to the embassy so that these could be addressed.

Earlier, Zaki briefed the ambassador about the KCCI’s efforts aimed at enhancing trade by undertaking different initiatives and entering into joint ventures with the Indonesian counterparts.

“We have witnessed overwhelming participation of Indonesian businessmen and exhibitors in the KCCI’s ‘My Karachi – Oasis of Harmony’ exhibition every year due to the support extended by the Indonesian embassy and the consulate general of Indonesia,” he said.

In a bid to step up bilateral trade, Zaki asked the ambassador to help the KCCI in setting up a display centre of Pakistani goods and services in Indonesia, which would enable Indonesian businessmen to take a close look at the high-quality goods being manufactured in Pakistan

Creating energy: Mir Ghazanfar for generating electricity from Attaabad Lake

G-B chief secretary has prepared a feasibility report for construction of 20MW electricity on site of Attaabad lake. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: 

Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan, former deputy chief executive of Gilgit-Baltistan, has asked for turning the Attaabad lake disaster into an opportunity by generating 20 mega watt of electricity from the reservoir.

“I have presented a written application to the prime minister during my meeting with him in this regard requesting him to initiate a 20 MW of electricity sufficient to meet the demand of the entire Hunza district of Gilgit Baltistan.”

Khan observed that Gilgit-Baltistan including Hunza district were facing shortage of electricity which was hampering the economic activities in the area also affecting their sources of livelihood of the people. He said the Gilgit Baltistan chief secretary has also prepared a feasibility report for the construction of 20MW electricity on the site of Attaabad lake.

For promotion of trade: Pakistan looks to resolve dispute with Russia

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar chairing the first meeting of the committee formed to resolve the long outstanding dispute of $76 million in claims against the Russian government. PHOTO: PID

ISLAMABAD: 

In its desire to have balanced relations with major global powers, Pakistan has decided to resolve the long outstanding dispute of $76 million in claims against the Russian government, which has become a major stumbling block in the effort to further economic relations with the country.

The 15-year old claims by Pakistani investors against the Russian government have impeded efforts to seek its investment in the energy corridor which the PML-N government has envisaged.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif constituted a committee to resolve the dispute after Russia recently highlighted the issue with Pakistani authorities, according to officials from the Ministry of Finance. The government desires to have cordial relations with all major powers, particularly with Russia, they added.

The first meeting of the committee was held here at the Ministry of Finance, and was chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

Dar gave the Ministry of Commerce one week to verify the $76 million worth of claims, the officials added. The claims mostly relate to freight charges.

Dar formed a sub-committee, headed by Secretary Commerce Qasim Niaz, to have a meaningful dialogue with all the stakeholders in the process and submit its proposal within a week.

The finance minister emphasised the importance of resolving the 15-year old trade-related dispute for taking a giant leap forward for removing the impasse in Pak-Russia trade relation, according to an official handout of the Ministry of Finance.

He said any progress made in resolving these issues will create a win-win situation for both parties and will remove the barriers to mutual trade that have held the trade relation between the two countries hostage for more than one and half decade.

Seven parties had made the claims against the Russians. One has opted out, while the remaining are actively pursuing the case to get their money recovered.

According to officials, the Russian government has recently written a letter to Pakistan, asking it to resolve the dispute if it was keen on deepening bilateral economic and commercial relations.

Due to the unpredictable nature of Pakistan-United States relations, the Foreign Office advised the Prime Minister to improve ties with Russia, the officials said.

Dar is said to have directed the Ministry of Commerce to act as an honest broker for the settlement of financial claims existing between the Russian government and the trade community of Pakistan, according to the statement. He said the Pakistani government should play a role of a facilitator instead of becoming a party.

He said the resolution of the financial disputes between the countries will give a positive signal to the Russian investors to bring their capital to Pakistan and the country will also be in a favourable condition to avail trade opportunities existing in the resource rich Central Asian States.

Russia enjoys greater influence over its former satellites and recently achieved a big diplomatic victory over European Union when it stopped Ukraine to enter the bloc of 27 nations

Imran says Musharraf should not be allowed to escape trial

PHOTO: WASEEM NIAZ

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairperson Imran Khan on Tuesday said if former president Pervez Musharraf was genuinely ill, he should be provided with the best medical facilities but if that is not the case, he should not be allowed to run away from the trial.

Imran – who is visiting Sindh – was speaking to the media in Karachi today.

Referring to a speculated deal for letting Musharraf escape the treason trial, Imran said only time will tell if there is a third National Reconciliation Ordinance in the making.

“There should not be one law for the rich and another for the poor,” Imran added.

May elections

The PTI chairperson said people praise former president Asif Ali Zardari for heading a democratic government for five good years but no one looks at what the tenure did to the people of this country.

Referring to last year’s general elections and the rigging that took place, Imran said the people who came to power are afraid of verifying votes that were cast during the elections.

He said the verification of a few constituencies will disclose what a farce these elections were.

“Eight months have passed since the election but the issue has not been solved; we want recounting of votes in only four constituencies in Punjab,” he said.

The PTI chairperson said his party wants to make sure next elections are not rigged the way May 11 polls were.

Sindh politics

Responding to a question regarding Arif Alvi’s stance on the Bilawal House wall issue, Imran said he was the representative of the people and he just wanted the implementation of a court order which states the wall should be brought down.

He stressed that he was not against tight security for PPP patron in chief Bilawal Bhutto but that court orders should be followed and people of the area should facilitated.

On Bilawal’s criticism of Imran on Twitter, the PTI chief said his politics was on the ground, not on Twitter.

Referring to his recent rallies in Lahore and Umerkot, Imran said he is amidst the people and so is his politics.

He went on to apologise to the people of Sindh for not campaigning enough in the province for the general elections and assured he will visit all the districts in the coming months.

Imran particularly praised the people of Karachi for standing with the PTI in the general elections against the violent politics of the city.

Sindh I, Sindh II

Rubbishing the idea of dividing Sindh because of the current problems, Imran said politicians should focus on addressing the issues rather than creating rifts.

He stressed that people are sick of injustices and political leaders should not be taking advantage of this situation but alleviate the suffering.

Without naming Altaf Hussain or Bilawal, Imran lashed out at them for creating a hue and cry while living aboard.

Zahra Hussain

Imran said he was informed that the murderers of Zahra Shahid Hussain were arrested. He said PTI should be informed about the culprits and what party they belonged to.

The PTI central vice president was shot dead on May 18 outside her house in Karachi just hours before re-elections in some polling stations of NA-250 were due to begin.

Condemning the recent killings of two of his party members in the city, Imran said people were being terrorised prior to the local bodies election.

Accountability

Boasting about Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s soon-to-be introduced accountability law, Imran said the law will go after the big “jinns” of corruption.

He stated that the said law can also investigate the chief minister if he was involved in corruption.

PESCO

Clarifying that PTI and its coalition members were ready to take control of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), Imran said the provincial government also wants the control of power generation.

He said Pesco only manages power distribution in the city.

Imran went on to say that the K-P government – if given control of both power generation and distribution – will provide cheap electricity to the people and reduce power theft

Bottomed out: Nothing succeeds like success

FPSC report highlights poor education standards, ridiculous answers by candidates. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: 

While it is not as if those who succeeded in the last decade or so are doing any better, the aspirants of the civil services in the latest examinations have sunk even lower in terms of quality of their answers. And as a result, a whopping 97 per cent failed but not without amusing the examiners with their answers.

A soon-to- be- released annual report on the Central Superior Services (CSS) exams by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) for 2013 is a poignant comment on the deteriorating quality of education in the country.

There are some interesting observations by the examiners who conducted the written part of the 2013 CSS examinations, a source familiar with the report said requesting anonymity.

“Education is dealt with as a commodity,” said an examiner adding  that “education has become a corporate product. More than 97 per cent candidates failed in the written examination.”

The commission will submit the report to President Mamnoon Hussain and to the parliament before making it public.

According to the report 10,400 candidates out of a total of 11,400, have failed in the essay writing, 8,500 in current affairs and 7,500 in the English language paper. A total of 6,000 were unsuccessful in general knowledge (Pakistan Affairs) and 5,200 in everyday science.

According to some examiners, the performance of the majority of the candidates in English writing and expression was shocking. The examiner was of the view that candidates relied on stereotypical substandard materials available in the market instead of using their own mind and intelligence for an innovative  approach.

They have demonstrated flaws both in comprehension and expression.

The second subject which exposed the skill of 7,500 candidates was English (Precis and Composition). The aspirants lacked clear thinking, critical analysis and orderly construction. They were unaware of what precise is and how it is structured. Several candidates simply reproduced the text. The overall standard of grammar produced by the candidates was very poor.

In General Knowledge, performance of 98 per cent was unsatisfactory whereas about 6,000 candidates failed in  Pakistan Affairs. They could not grasp the questions. Spellings were horrible.

Many candidates gave funny replies to questions pertaining to Islamic jurisprudence.

While writing reply to a question many candidates answered ‘Al-Ahliyyah’ means wife whereas it means legal capacity of a person.

Likewise several candidates in their answers wrote “it was decided by Ijma in the life of Holy Prophet (PBUH).”

A lot of candidates said that “The Holy Prophet (PBUH) has permitted in the Holy Quran” while the answer should have said Allah had permitted it in the Quran.

The results are a sad reflection of our fast declining education standard, admitted a highly placed source in the Higher Education Commission (HEC) requesting anonymity.

The report has criticised the public and private sector universities for the alarming decline in the educational standard and blamed the HEC for the entire situation.

“The HEC despite spending billion of rupees on education has failed to regulate the universities, said a former vice-chancellor of the Quaid-i-Azam University who wished to not to be named.

Next year’s CSS result could be even more terrible if the HEC does not play its role in reversing the rot, he added

Google partners with automakers for on-board Android

Google joined on Monday with automakers General Motors, Audi, Honda and Hyundai in a new partnership to bring the Android mobile system to vehicles. The companies, with semiconductor firm Nvidia, announced the formation of the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA), an industry group

"committed to bringing the Android platform to cars starting in 2014," according to a statement.

"The OAA is dedicated to a common platform that will drive innovation, and make technology in the car safer and more intuitive for everyone," the statement added.

"This open development model and common platform will allow automakers to more easily bring cutting-edge technology to their drivers,and create new opportunities for developers to deliver powerful experiences for drivers and passengers in a safe and scalable way."

The announcement comes with automakers looking at new technologies for the connected car, to bring navigation, entertainment and other applications to vehicles.

Some automakers are looking at developing their own platforms, while others are considering platforms like Apple's iOS or BlackBerry-owned QNX. But Monday's announcement looks to put Google and Android in the driver's seat.

"Millions of people are already familiar with Android and use it everyday," said Google vice president Sundar Pichai.

"The expansion of the Android platform into automotive will allow our industry partners to more easily integrate mobile technology into cars and offer drivers a familiar, seamless experience so they can focus on the road."