KARACHI: The German Ambassador Bernhard Stephan Schlagheck, has said that he will share information about the potential sectors and opportunities available in Pakistan with those German companies that might be interested in investing in this market.
This he said during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
The ambassador said, “We will certainly assist the business communities of the two countries looking forward to improving relations with each other, and this is why I am here to seek your advice and recommendation on what we can do to promote trade and investment.”
BMG vice chairman Anjum Nisar said, “Germany is one of the few countries with whom Pakistan enjoys surplus trade which means we are exporting more to Germany and importing less.”
He said that the German business community must look into the possibility of either investing or undertaking joint ventures in many sectors of the economy, particularly the alternate energy sector.
“It may appear unrealistic and look like a joke today to have US$10 billion trade with Germany but it is not impossible, keeping in view the massive trade potential,” he said while referring to Germany’s mammoth exports of US$1500 billion, of which goods worth a meager amount of US$1.17 billion were being exported to Pakistan.
KCCI president Shariq Vohra appreciated the German ambassador’s keen interest in developing trade and investment ties between the two friendly countries, but it was a bit unfortunate that not much investment was coming in from Germany.
“We need to discuss our relationship in a new dimension with a particular focus on exploring trade and investment opportunities in CPEC. However, it has been observed that businessmen and investors from European countries were not taking much interest in CPEC which requires attention,” he added.
He said that Pakistan has great potential for enhancing trade and investment with Germany.
“We can assist Germany by facilitating joint ventures in construction sector, infrastructure development, power generation and transmission, public transport and many other sectors,” he said, adding that the KCCI and the German consulate would have to make collective efforts for improving the existing bilateral relations.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
Comments
Comments are closed.