ISLAMABAD: A 10 members delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) led by its President Atif Ikram Sheikh visited Czech Chamber of Commerce and Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic in Prague to explore possibilities for promoting business collaborations between the two countries.
Speaking at the occasion, Atif Ikram Sheikh said that Czech Republic was an important country for Pakistan to get better access to European markets. He said the bilateral trade of around $160 million between the two countries was far below their true potential. He said the main reason of low trade volume was trade in limited range of products. The main exports of Czech Republic to Pakistan included toilet papers & tissues, powder milk, machinery, products of defense industry, textile machines and machine tools while Pakistan’s major exports to Czech Republic were mostly comprised of textiles and garments products. He stressed that both countries should focus on diversification of trade to improve trade volume.
He briefed the Czech counterparts about investment potential in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy. He said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project would start a new era of business and investment opportunities in Pakistan, especially in infrastructure development, energy and other sectors. Pakistan was located at the crossroads of three important regions with easy access to lucrative markets in Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia. He said it was good time for Czech investors to explore Pakistan for investment and joint ventures.
In his welcome address, Vice President František Chaloupecký Confederation of Industry of Czech Republic said that business community of his country was interested in promoting trade relations with Pakistan and would support every effort initiated in this regard. He said that information technology, telecom and software were the booming sectors in Czech Republic and Pakistan could gain good benefits for its economy by promoting cooperation with his country in these areas.
He said Czech Republic was known for high quality agricultural technology and machinery and Pakistan being an agriculture country has good scope to improve its agricultural productivity by enhancing cooperation with Czech Republic. Both sides discussed in detail the ways and means to further improve business relations in areas of interest. They stressed upon the need of regular exchange of trade delegations that would enable the business communities of both countries to identify new areas of mutual cooperation and bring both countries even closer in trade and economic fields.
—
