French investment linked to security issue

French Ambassador Regis D Balanet has termed $100 million French investment as meagre, saying that only hurdle in enhancing the investment was security concerns of the investors.
"A French business delegation was about to visit Pakistan, but May 12 incidents of Karachi forced it to stay back", the envoy said, while addressing the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) here on Tuesday.
The French envoy said that due to security concerns, the perception of the investors was changing. No French expatriates are living in Pakistan due to the killing of 11 French engineers in Karachi bomb blast five years ago, he observed.
He said the energy sector of Pakistan needs improvement as it is baseline for the industrial and agricultural development of the country. The energy sector is crucial for development of Pakistan and the government should give special attention to this sector, he added.
He said the multinational companies of two sides have formed joint ventures in different fields, but there is need to lay special emphasis on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). He said that SMEs sector has the potential to add to economic growth besides, eliminating unemployment and poverty.
The French envoy said that $1 billion trade between France and Pakistan was insufficient which needed to be enhanced. The two countries have bilateral trade links in pharmaceutical, transmission and distribution of electricity, electronics, defence equipment, and construction, while hotel and hospitality industry is a new inclusion, the envoy added.
He said that agriculture was an important sector of Pakistan economy and two countries have huge potential of bilateral cooperation in this sector. He said that Pakistan and France were exchanging the delegations of agriculture experts to share their expertise.
He invited the RCCI delegation to Paris, saying that they would find better partners and counterparts there. This visit of Pakistani businessmen would help increase the bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, he added.
Earlier, RCCI President Dr Sarosh, in his welcome address, said that political, commerce and economic relations between France and Pakistan were time-tested. "It is in best interest of the people of two sides to further develop their relations by exploring new avenues of cooperation", he added.
He invited French entrepreneurs to participate in upcoming international trade fair of the RCCI in September. He hoped that the trade bodies of France would enter in bilateral agreements with the RCCI and other trade bodies.