
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday termed his meeting with the Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto “extremely productive and gratifying”, as the two pledged to expand bilateral trade ties. Speaking during a ceremony held for the signing of several memoranda of understanding between Indonesia and Pakistan, PM Shehbaz detailed the pair’s discussions and said, “What we have decided is […] to promote our bilateral trade, culture, interact in the field of medical health, education, and vocational training.” He assured the Indonesian president that Pakistan would “work closely” with Indonesia to achieve the decided targets. The premier noted that Pakistan’s current bilateral trade with Indonesia stood at $4.5 billion, out of which more than 90 per cent accounted for palm oil imports. “We have discussed how to take corrective measures to balance this balance of trade through agricultural exports from Pakistan, through exports of IT-led initiatives,” adding that the “trade gap” can be filled in many other are...