KARACHI: Pakistan Ambassador to Bosnia, Lt. Gen (Retd.) Saleem Nawaz has assured to fully support and cooperate with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in all its initiatives on promoting trade and investment ties with Bosnia.
Speaking at a meeting during his visit to Karachi Chamber, he said that Pakistan’s Embassy in Bosnia would surely welcome all suggestions given by Karachi Chamber towards enhancing the existing trade ties between the two countries.
Vice Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Zubair Motiwala, President KCCI Shamim Ahmed Firpo, Senior Vice President KCCI Asif Nisar, Vice President KCCI Muhammad Younus Soomro, Former President KCCI Majyd Aziz and KCCI Managing Committee members were also present on the occasion.
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Saleem Nawaz further stressed the need to enhance linkages with the businesspeople of Bosnia which was an essential market in the European Union. “In this regard, Pakistan’s Embassy in Bosnia will try its best to extend full support and cooperation to those businessmen who are looking forward to enhance trade with their counterparts in Bosnia”, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Zubair Motiwala stated that although Pakistani business and industrial community was keen to do business with their Bosnian counterparts but they were unable to do so mainly because of the political instability which was the aftermath of civil war.
Underscoring the need to look for opportunities of enhancing trade between Pakistan and Bosnia, he advised Pakistan’s Ambassador to facilitate visits of trade delegations and stay focused on improving government-to-government and business-to-business interactions. “Pakistan can offer a lot to Bosnia in terms of investments, in terms of exports and also in terms of commodity supplies. All we need to do is to compliment and supplement each other”, he added.
Zubair Motiwala further advised the Ambassador to understand the Bosnian government policies, particularly its foreign investment policy, taxation policy, labor laws and visa regime, which if favorable would surely attract Pakistan’s business and industrial community.
Earlier, President KCCI Shamim Ahmed Firpo, while congratulating Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Saleem Nawaz on his appointment as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Bosnia, said that the overall trade volume between Pakistan and Bosnia remains very low at less than US$1 million which requires serious attention. “Pakistan’s embassies around the world including Bosnia must play an active role in enhancing trade by engaging their commercial attachés and other staff towards promoting Pakistani products and services, besides highlighting the improved security situation in the country, particularly Karachi where the law and order situation is much better as compared to what it was in the past”, he advised.
He also assured full support and cooperation of Karachi Chamber to Pakistan’s Embassy in Bosnia, which would surely yield positive results keeping in view the significant role being played by Karachi Chamber in the economic development of Pakistan. “If India can capture a sizable share of the Bosnian market then why not Pakistan as we also produce similar high-quality products. All we need to do is stay focused on effectively marketing our products and services which can be done through collective efforts by the Pakistan Embassy in Bosnia and the Karachi Chamber”, he added.
