ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari invited the investors and traders of Guatemala to invest in Pakistan under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) framework, which provides a single-window platform for investors in key sectors including agriculture, IT, energy, mining and defence production.
In a meeting with former President of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales, currently serving as Speaker of Guatemala’s Parliament, who called on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr today, the president said that Pakistan values its relations with Guatemala and looks forward to stronger cooperation in trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges.
He noted that both countries face common challenges in rural development, climate resilience, and economic modernisation and identified sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and health sciences as areas for practical collaboration.
The president appreciated Guatemala’s support at the United Nations, including for Pakistan’s candidatures to the Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council and called for continued cooperation at multilateral fora. He also underscored the importance of strengthening parliamentary and institutional linkages through exchanges and dialogue on governance, saying geographical distance should not limit engagement between the two countries.
Mr Morales thanked Pakistan for hosting the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers Conference and for inviting him to participate. He said that such interactions would pave the way for new opportunities of cooperation between the two countries.
He added that Guatemala, the largest country in Central America, wishes to learn from Pakistan’s experience in various sectors. Mr Morales said that he was in Pakistan “to open doors between Pakistan and Guatemala for business and trade.”
Chairman Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Senator Sherry Rehman and Senator Saleem Mandviwala also attended the meeting.
