FAISALABAD: The business community of Pakistan and Tajikistan should forge their direct contacts to promote trade between the two countries.
This was stated by Maruf Jon Abdurahmonov, Consular Economic Section and Visa Section Head of Embassy of Tajikistan in Islamabad while addressing the business community in Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) here on Saturday.
Maruf Jon said that Tajikistan was also a Muslim country that gained independence in 1991 and its 93 percent area was hilly with population equal to Faisalabad.
He termed Tajikistan as gateway to central Asian states for Pakistan. He said that Pakistani Kinnow, garments, potatoes and mango juice were very popular in Tajikistan. Similarly, Tajikistan, rich in gas and electricity, was providing gas to Pakistan through CASA-1000.
He stressed the need to develop direct contacts between Pak-Tajik business communities to fully capture the existing trade in addition to exploiting the available potentialities.
Maruf Jon Abdurahmonov said that businessmen and industrialists of Faisalabad who had specialized skills in textile sector should come forward and establish their textile units in Tajikistan.
He further said that there were five free trade zones in Tajikistan with lucrative incentives. He said that Pakistani investors could import textile machinery without any taxes or duties while government had also allowed them to recruit 40 percent Pakistani labour for their units in Tajikistan.
Maruf said that up till 2007, the Pak-Tajik trade was restricted to only 100 million dollars which was now growing satisfactorily; however, there was still room to give a quantum jump to the bilateral trade between the two countries.
He said that Tajikistan had adopted a liberal visa policy, adding that three multiple business visas would be issued on the recommendation of FCCI.
Replying to a question, he said that there was a renowned medical university in Tajikistan and many Pakistanis were also enrolled in it.
“We have acute dearth of pharmaceutical industry. Earlier most of medicines were imported from India and now 60 to 70 percent medicines are imported from Pakistan,” he added.
He said that Tajikistan was holding various international exhibitions including Interfood, Dushanbe International Health Care Exhibition, Info Com Expo and Tajik Build from October 14 to 16. These exhibitions would be followed by Made in Pakistan Exhibition in Dushanbe, which was expected from 22nd to 24th of October.
Responding to another query about banking sector, he said that Pakistani businessmen were lucky as there was a well established branch of NBP in Tajikistan.
FCCI shield was also presented to Maruf Jon.
