KARACHI: President of the Republic of Mauritius, Dr Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has said that the Mauritian government plans to organize ‘Pakistan Week’ in Mauritius between 14th to 21st August which will be a highly symbolic event, coinciding with national day of Pakistan.
Exchanging views at a meeting with a delegation of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) during her visit to Karachi, the Mauritian President invited the KCCI to participate in Pakistan Week in Mauritius which will also provide an opportunity to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Karachi Chamber and Mauritius Chamber. “The signing of MoU will send a very strong signal that our two countries are keen to work with each other for the betterment of both of our economies,” she added
Ministry Counselor Mauritius Lam Chiu Yee, Head of Department-Board of Investment Mauritius Mrs. Nirmala Jeetah, Secretary General of Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Raju Jaddoo, President Mauritius-Pakistan Joint Business Council Shezad Ahmed, High Commissioner of Mauritius in Pakistan Yusuf Elahee and Honorary Consul General of Mauritius in Karachi Sohail Yasin Suleman accompanied the Mauritian President during her meeting with KCCI delegation.
Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli, Vice Chairmen BMG & Former Presidents KCCI Tahir Khaliq, Haroon Farooki and Anjum Nisar, President KCCI Younus Muhammad Bashir, Senior Vice President KCCI Zia Ahmed Khan, Vice President KCCI Muhammad Naeem Sharif, Former Presidents KCCI AQ Khalil, Mian Abrar Ahmed, Haroon Agar, Abdullah Zaki and Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra along with KCCI Managing Committee members were also present at the meeting.
President Ameenah further informed that this was her fourth visit to Pakistan and first visit as the Head of State. She said that the Pakistani business community can benefit from the location of Mauritius, which is at the crossroad, by entering into new business ventures.
She was of the opinion that although the two countries have been enjoying good relations and the situation in Pakistan was generally getting better but the trade figures are not matching and not really reflecting the reality of what can happen.
Commenting on her last two days experience in Pakistan, the Mauritian President said that there was a lot of vibrancy in Pakistani businesses and they were impressed to see the quality of products being produced in Pakistan. “Mauritius is in the Indian Ocean and we are a good gateway to Africa for these high quality products being produced in Pakistan”, she added.
Dr. Ameenah said, “Although conversation of Government-to-Government (G2G) and Business-to-Business (B2B) are taking place but I think now it’s time to move to People-to-People (P2P) which is how we will be able to make a difference.”
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli said that the visit of Mauritian President to Karachi would surely help in exploring ways and means of how to enhance trade and bring the business communities more close to each other.
He was of the opinion constant exchange of trade delegations and trade promotional activities in both countries would result in improving trade ties between the two countries.
He informed the Mauritian President that the Karachi Chamber’s Research & Development Cell has been carrying out extensive research by effectively monitoring the trade trends in more than 200 countries around the world including Mauritius, which are updated on regular basis. The special reports on the impact of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with friendly countries and other trade-related data is regularly being maintained and updated by KCCI’s R&D Cell which can also be used for identifying hurdles and the possibility of enhancing trade.
