LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Weihai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen trade and investment besides promoting cooperation in various sectors of economy.
LCCI President Abdul Basit signed the MOU on behalf of the LCCI while WCCI was represented by the Weihai Branch President Cai Xiaomeng.
On the occasion, 12-member Chinese delegation, led by Weihai Federation of Industry and Commerce Vice Chairman Xia Zhongping, also had B2B meetings with their Pakistani counterparts. LCCI Executive Committee Members Mian Zahid Javed, Zeeshan Khalil, Awais Piracha, Mian Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Arshad Chaudhry, Nadeem Qureshi, Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry and former LCCI vice president Nasir Saeed were also present on the occasion.
According to the MOU, both chambers would promote mutual cooperation in the sectors of construction, infrastructure, agriculture, livestock, renewable energy, mining, information technology, textile, machinery and chemical. Both the chambers would jointly organize event, trade fairs and exchange delegation. Both the chambers would also conduct matchmaking meetings, seminar for the perspective investors of both the regions with the goal of stimulating joint investments and reciprocal trade activities.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Abdul Basit said that the visit of delegation, MOU and B2B meetings will help Chinese businessmen explore the trade and investment opportunities. He said that the persistent increase in the frequency of trade delegations from China to Pakistan shows that Chinese private sector is taking keen interest in developing trade and investment relations with their Pakistani counterparts.
He said that Chinese entrepreneurs from important sectors of the economy like vehicle manufacturing, energy-efficient construction, infrastructure development, biotechnology, packaging printing and fishery development etc could start joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts.
The LCCI President said that there are great investment opportunities in nearly all the sectors in Pakistan. Our friends will be happy to know that the Government of Pakistan is trying its level best to facilitate the foreign investors to do business here and has ensured that transfer of their funds and profits is easily carried out.
He said that at present, all the major chambers of Pakistan are busy in building relations with foreign investors. The provincial governments along with the federal government are taking all possible steps to increase foreign investment in the country. In this situation, the Chinese companies can benefit the most by liaising with the local chambers of Pakistan. He said that there are already some companies from Pakistan and China which are collaborating with each other under CPEC project. We will certainly like to welcome more companies from China to look for joint venture projects in Pakistan.
Head of the Chinese delegation and Vice Chairman Weihai Federation of Industry & Commerce Xia Zhongping said that Chinese businessmen are keen to augment their relations with Pakistani businessmen.
He hoped that they would find more opportunities for trade and investment. He said that being a major hub of trade and economic activities, Lahore can provide more opportunities to the Chinese entrepreneurs. He hoped that visit of delegation would be result oriented and Chinese companies will find new trade partners in Pakistan.
