Makkah Accord needs to be extended to include trade cooperation: KATI

Muhammad Ikram Rajput, president of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), has urged that the Makkah Defence Pact be widened to cover commerce, according to Business Recorder. Speaking in Karachi, he argued that the strategic trust created by the pact should be converted into deeper economic and trade ties rather than remaining confined to defence. He said the business community would welcome joint ventures, investment schemes and closer commercial ties among companies in the three nations.

Rajput called for removing barriers to bilateral commerce, simplifying customs procedures, sending business delegations more often and building a friendlier climate for investors. He also stressed industrial cooperation and value addition, arguing that closer collaboration could help the three countries gain ground in global supply chains. He said regional calm was a precondition for lasting growth, and he wants the private sector placed at the centre of a trilateral framework.

He called the pact a historic gift to the nation marking Independence Day, and said a combined partnership could draw on Saudi investment resources, Turkish industrial and technological strengths, and Pakistan's workforce and large consumer market. Rajput concluded that the three countries' combined market, resources and industrial capacity offer wide scope for cooperation that benefits each side.