FIANZ welcomes the recent Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with the GCC countries and earlier with the UAE, said Ibrar Sheikh, President, FIANZ. It should be recognised that NZ has punched well above economic giants like the USA, UK, the EU and Australia who have yet to conclude their FTAs. Both the previous and current Trade Ministers, Hon Damien O'Connor and Hon. Todd McClay should be congratulated for the success of the bipartisan approach and a NZ Inc. trade negotiations strategy.

The FTA process which started almost 18 years ago with successive National and Labour governments all contributing to building the foundation. There is no doubt that the Dame Lisa Carrington speed and urgency shown by Prime Minister’s, Rt Hon. Christopher Luxon, with his business-like outcomes approach, has been the game changer. What is most significant is that the end-stage sensitive trade negotiations have been managed in a culturally nuanced approach which took into consideration the current Middle East conflict and the Gaza genocide, as well as the NZ Government’s stance on a ceasefire. There is no doubt that the endless hours of technical support by our local and Middle-East-based posts, under the guidance of Bede Corry, Secretary, MFAT, have been the critical success factor, said Abdur Razzaq, FIANZ spokesperson. These are all hallmarks of exemplary leadership of a small country on the global scale.

Against the backdrop of the international trade channels being enhanced , it is no coincidence that at the recent Ethnic Xchange Summit, organised by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities(MEC) in Auckland, that Ministers Hon. Nicola Willis, Hon. Melissa Lee and Hon. David Seymour all highlighted the potential of our ethnic SMEs and entrepreneurs to catapult NZ’s economy . As Mervin Singham, CEO of MEC noted, the ethnic community connections with their overseas counterparts, gives NZ a valuable competitive edge in the international context.

FIANZ, the umbrella national Muslim organisation, has provided an example of this. We pioneered the halal export trade with our certification services to the meat industry. When we first started in the 1970’s, it was about one or two containers a month and now this has grown to over $ 3 billion in halal meat export. The Muslim contribution to the NZ economy, extends beyond just halal meat to now include dairy, chemicals, beverages, honey, processed food as well as services in the education and tourism sectors. This is nearing $ 5 billion annually, said Abdur Razzaq.

This highlights that when NZ’s ethnic and faith communities work along-side our private-sector exporters and the government with a NZ Inc approach, the economic benefit to our country can be both substantial and sustainable. The recent census have shown that the ethnic population is nearing 20%. This sizeable increase brings with it significant value dividends. Migrants have always been hard workers, business pioneers and entrepreneurs. The combination of our internal socio-economic connectivity and the external infrastructural support provided by such initiatives as the recent GCC and UAE FTAs, gives NZ a competitive edge which our exporters can benefit from, said Abdur Razzaq.

In the above context, FIANZ has invited the government to a major Halal Investment, Trade and Tourism Expo planned for March 2016 in Christchurch. We shall be working with some 57 OIC countries and their Chambers of Commerce. Our particular focus shall be on the GCC and Muslim ASEAN countries to promote B2B and B2G networking. This will be the largest such expo in the southern hemisphere and the two recent FTAs make our work so much easier, said Abdur Razzaq.

© Scoop Media