ISLAMABAD: Acting President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Khalid Chaudhry said on Monday said Pakistan and Portugal needed to take new initiatives to improve bilateral trade as the current volume was far below the potential.
To tap all untapped areas of cooperation, both the countries should encourage frequent exchange of trade delegations and facilitate private sectors in making direct contacts, he added.
He was addressing the business community at ICCI on the visit of Iftikhar Feroz, Honorary Consul of Portugal and Dr Mario Cabral, an economist of Portugal and expert in international trade, investment and business relationships.
Khalid Chaudhry said Pakistan offered great incentives to foreign investors with great return on investments in different sectors, including energy, infrastructure development etc.
He said the government was determined to initiate many developmental projects. The time was ripe for the investors of Portugal to explore business and investment opportunities, he added.
After grant of GSP Plus status to Pakistan by the European Union, Portugal should focus on enhancing import of Pakistani textiles, garments and leather products and help Pakistan in getting easy market access to EU markets, he said.
The ICCI chief said Portugal was one of the leading wind energy producers and generating 61.7 percent electricity through renewable energy sources, therefore, Pakistan should enhance cooperation with Portugal in energy sector to overcome its energy problems.
Honorary Consul Iftikhar Feroz and Dr. Mario Cabral, during the visit, discussed the possibilities for enhancing bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Portugal.
They said both countries had good relations in textiles sector, but they should focus on diversifying their cooperation to achieve mutually beneficial results.
They said Pakistan should also enhance collaboration with Portugal to manufacture and export value-added technological products.
They said Portugal was a famous tourism destination and Pakistan should benefit from its experience to promote its tourism industry.
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