ISLAMABAD: Yasmin Qureshi, Member, UK Parliament assured that she would play a role to further improve bilateral trade and economic ties between Pakistan and UK. She said that Pakistan has great potential for business and investment, which should be properly projected to attract the attention of foreign investors. She said that a lot of construction projects are going on in Pakistan, which shows its economic potential and added that a stable Pakistan would attract more investment. She said this while addressing the business community during her visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI). Raja Najabat Hussain, Founding Chairman, Jammu & Kashmir Self-Determination Movement also accompanied her on the occasion.
Yasmin Qureshi said that Pakistani entrepreneurs should take advantage of the latest technology and machinery to control the wastage of food and fruits in order to improve their exports. She said that Pakistan’s economy has suffered great losses due to being a frontline state against the war on terrorism and added that the security situation in Pakistan is now much better that is important for the growth of business and economic activities. She said that the UK has cut overseas aid and is now providing aid for capacity building that can be beneficial for Pakistan. She stressed that the business community should play a role for promoting education in youth that would also provide an educated and skilled workforce to the business and industry. She assured that she would continue to play a role in promoting the business interests of Pakistan in the UK.
Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry lauded the services of Yasmin Qureshi as MP in UK Parliament. He said that UK’s annual imports are over £200 billion and exports over £180 billion, but Pakistan-UK bilateral trade up to the 2nd quarter of 2022 was just around £3.5 billion, which is far less than the actual potential of both countries. He said that as a member of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Britain-Pakistan Trade and Tourism, Yasmin Qureshi should cooperate in promoting collaboration between Pakistan and UK in trade, tourism, investment and other sectors. He said that ICCI would try to form a delegation for the UK and hoped that Yasmin Qureshi would help in connecting it with right partners in the UK. He said that many sectors of Pakistan’s economy are offering great opportunities for joint ventures and investment and emphasized that more UK companies including the Pakistani diaspora should be motivated to take benefit of them by doing business in Pakistan.
Faad Waheed Senior Vice President, Muhammad Azhar ul Islam Vice President ICCI, Raja Najabat Hussain, Founding Chairman, Jammu & Kashmir Self-Determination Movement, Khalid Iqbal Malik Group Leader, Zafar Bakhtawari, Zubair Ahmed Malik, Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi, Mian Shaukat Masud and others also spoke at the occasion and shared useful ideas for further enhancing bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and UK.
