KARACHI: The Ambassador of Azerbaijan Khazar Farhadov, while highlighting the potential, opportunities and incentives being offered to foreign investors, invited the business and industrial community of Karachi to look into the possibility of investing in the Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) where no value added tax, withholding tax or any other corporate tax was applicable and there was no restriction on foreign ownership.
Exchanging views at a meeting during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Envoy added that Pakistani investors by setting up their business units in Azerbaijan, in addition to availability of complete infrastructure, tax exemptions and other incentives, will experience a business-friendly environment due to reduced red tape and ongoing reforms in the macroeconomic environment, human capital & labor market, infrastructure & utilities, investor protection, foreign trade facilitation and technology & innovations.
President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain, Chairman of Diplomatic Missions & Embassies Liaison Subcommittee Zia ul Arfeen, Former President KCCI Majyd Aziz, Second Secretary of Azerbaijan Embassy, Shahbala Karimov, Third Secretary/ Media Attaché Azerbaijan Embassy Elchin Mehdiyev and KCCI Managing Committee Members attended the meeting.
Azerbaijani Ambassador further pointed out that a total of 2137 Pakistani companies were registered in Azerbaijan covering key sectors including industry, trade, services, construction, transport and telecommunication while the overall investment by Pakistani companies in Azerbaijan stood at US$4.2 million during the period from 1995-2021. “Azerbaijan with a population of 10.1 million, GDP per capita of US$3693 and foreign direct investment of US$14.8 billion in the non-oil sector can offer profitable investment opportunities to the business community of Karachi in the agriculture, construction, petrochemicals, renewables, transport, mining, digital economy and tourism sectors”, he added.
Highlighting the business opportunities between the two countries, he said that Pakistani businessmen can export clothes and other textile products, optic and medical equipment, pharmaceutical products, rice, mangoes, bananas and other tropical fruits while Azerbaijan can export cotton & cotton yarn, polymers of ethylene or propylene, black fermented tea, tomatoes, hazzle nuts, strawberries, berries, vegetables, fruit juices, sauces etc.
