Italian minister suggests bilateral framework for boosted trade relations

Italian Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Ivan Scalfarotto has expressed dire need for establishing an inter-governmental framework between Pakistan and Italy to further boost trade relations between the two countries.He said this during his address to Pakistan-Italy Investment Forum here on Tuesday.
The forum was jointly organised by the Board of Investment (BOI) and Italian Embassy in Pakistan at a local hotel on the occasion of two-day official visit of the Italian deputy minister. As many as 50 prominent businessmen of Pakistan including presidents and CEOs of different multinational business circles attended the forum. Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif was the chief guest on the occasion.
Ivan Scalfarotto urged the Italian businessmen to invest in projects of Pakistan, saying, "Italy is having expertise in technology and knows how to meet the energy requirements of Pakistan, and we wish to contribute in resolving energy problems." He called for boosting up exchange of business delegations between the two countries to further improve trade relations between the countries. He expressed satisfaction over the economic growth of Pakistan and highlighted improvement in the country's economy and said that Italian companies are well aware of investment scope and potential in Pakistani market.
The deputy minister also said that huge Chinese investment in Pakistan and TAPI gas project would play a vital role in the economic development of Pakistan and the region. Ivan appreciated the Pakistan's efforts for improvement in the economic and security conditions of the region. He praised the support given by the people of Pakistan to the Italian nation.
Khawaja Asif said that since inception of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has placed a strong emphasis on holding economic reforms to achieve significant improvement in all sectors of the economy. "Pakistan's economy has made significant progress through a combination of stabilisation and structural reforms," he added.
MOS / Chairman, BOI Dr Miftah Ismail, and Secretary BOI Azhar Ali Choudhry highlighted that Pakistan is offering a very liberal investment regime in the region with diverse and business friendly incentives. The chairman said, "When our government assumed power in 2013, we were facing energy crisis, economic instability, extremism and terrorism. Our government has handled these issues head-on and achieved substantial success in all these areas."
He said that promoting regional connectivity is one of the pillars of Pakistan's development strategy. The government is actively pursuing this initiative, which has the potential to integrate South Asia, China, Central Asia and West Asia, which are engines of growth in Asia. "The game changer agreements have been signed between Pakistan and China including China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)," he added.
He argued that the focus of CPEC is on energy, a network of roads, railways and pipelines between the longtime allies connecting Kashgar city of China with Gwadar Port of Pakistan. In addition, he said the government is also working on Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, Central Asia-South Asia electricity transmission projects, which would immensely enhance Pakistan's regional connectivity and make it a hub of economic development.
The chairperson Sindh BOIT and heads of provincial investment promotion agencies from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also addressed the forum. They highlighted the investment opportunities available in their respective provinces and invited the Italian businessmen for investment. At the end the meetings were held between Pakistani and Italian businessmen in different sectors including infrastructure, construction, renewable energy, automotive, machinery for agriculture, food processing, textile and leather.