ISLAMABAD: Minister of State and Chairman Board of Investment (BOI) Muhammad Azfar Ahsan on Tuesday said that Pakistan has a young, digitally equipped population and there are immense opportunities for joint investment cooperation between Pakistan and Ethiopia.
“Pakistan considers Ethiopia to be one of the centerpieces of its engage Africa initiative” Chairman BOI said.
A three member delegation from Ethiopia led by Ethiopian, State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Redwan Hussien called on Minister of State and Chairman BOI Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, said a press release issued by BOI here.
Chairman BOI welcomed the delegation and requested Mr. Hussien to encourage Ethiopian businessmen to invest in Pakistan.
While introducing the Board of Investment to the delegation, he mentioned that BOI is the secretariat and lead agency for industrial cooperation under CPEC, Regulatory Modernization Initiative and Special Economic Zones.
Elaborating on the investment regime of the country, the Chairman shared that all sectors are open to foreign investors, ensuring uniform treatment to all with 100% foreign equity allowed and borrowing facilities available both from local and foreign banks.
Chairman BOI added that the Board of investment has developed a database of readily available projects for investment totaling over 120 projects worth 60 Billion US$ available in communication & IT, construction, tourism, energy, water treatment, agriculture and fish farming, railways and manufacturing sectors.
He stressed that Pakistan considers Ethiopia to be one of the centerpieces of its Engage Africa initiative while Ethiopia can come to rely on Pakistan as a trusted all-weather partner in the Global South.
These two states have similar structures and developmental experiences which make them perfect partners of one another.
Ethiopian State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador Redwan Hussien pointed that Ethiopia is set to establish its permanent Mission in Pakistan soon.
He corroborated Chairman BOI’s statement about common areas of interest and potential of JVs between the two countries and underscored the need to establish a regular mechanism of interaction between business associations and chambers of Ethiopia and Pakistan.
He mentioned value added agro processing and garment manufacturing as sectors of potential investment in Pakistan and said that experience-sharing in poverty alleviation represents promising avenues for both countries.
Chairman BOI thanked the delegation for their visit and extended an invitation to Ethiopian investors for the Pakistan Investment Summit to be held on 30th – 31st March 2022. He stated that the Summit would provide an opportunity to market the investment potential of Pakistan, promote sectoral matchmaking, and attract investments in all priority sectors as well as the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Pakistan.
Mr. Hussien warmly accepted the invitation and said that a delegation of Ethiopian investors will participate in the summit.
