After leading the Thai negotiation team for the second round of negotiation on a free-trade agreement (FTA) in Islamabad this week, Sunanta Kangvalkulkij, deputy director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Negotiations Department, said the two sides had made a lot of progress on a tax-reduction format and other issues.

“To accelerate the wrapping up of many issues in the FTA, the two countries have also agreed to hold further discussions via videoconference before the next round of negotiations so that progress can be made on some technical topics,” she said.

The third round of the FTA talks is set for May, and Thailand will host the negotiations.

Sunanta said that with so much progress on many issues, the FTA could be finalised by the end of this year, earlier than the previous target, which had been set for 2017.

Both Thailand and Pakistan would like to accelerate the FTA since each country considers the other as a gateway to a wider region. Thailand can be a springboard for Pakistan to Aseancountries, while Pakistan will be a springboard for Thailand to South Asia.

Pakistan is considered a good source of raw materials for many industries in the Kingdom. Thailand could also be a destination for strategic investment as Pakistan seeks trading opportunities in other Asean countries.

In 2014, Thailand enjoyed a trade surplus of US$734 million (Bt26.2 billion) with Pakistan, and similar trade surpluses have been registered by the Kingdom since 2010.

Bilateral trade reached $1.01 billion in 2014, with Thailand’s exports to Pakistan worth $874 million.

Pakistan is Thailand’s second-largest trading partner in South Asia after India, and No 46 globally.