LAHORE: South Africa High Commissioner Mpendulo Jele has called on Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Ijaz A Mumtaz and said that Pakistan and South Africa will further need to focus on boosting economic ties.
The high commissioner said there was potential for improving the economic relationship between the two countries. “South African businessmen are well aware of investment opportunities that exist in various sectors of economy in Pakistan.”
There were many sectors that could be focused on for trade enhancement, he said, adding Pakistan could certainly benefit from the South African expertise. He pointed out that a number of Pakistani companies had already successfully invested in various parts of South Africa.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz said that the exports of Pakistan to South Africa are not picking up for the last three years. The average level of exports is reeling just around $280 million.
He said that the level of bilateral trade is constantly dipping whose main reason is constant decline in imports from South Africa to Pakistan. “We need to make efforts to arrest this trend and turnaround the trade patterns. If both the countries succeed in taking some strong initiatives then it is not difficult to take the volume of two way trade to $1 billion mark in a couple of years.”
