Ambassador of France to Pakistan Ms Martine Dorance on Monday said that France and Pakistan are enjoying highly cordial relations since long and these ties would be further strengthened with the passage of time. Addressing the members of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), she said, "We were making adequate efforts for extending full cooperation and support to Pakistan in various fields".
The ambassador underscored the need of collective efforts for enhancing the volume of bilateral trade between the two friendly countries. She stressed upon the business community of Pakistan that they should import different products from France. The Ambassador lauded the role of business community of Sialkot for establishing an International Airport on self-help basis and set a unique precedent for the business community of the world.
In his address of welcome, acting President SCCI Muhammad Sarfraz Butt said that there is huge scope for quality products of Sialkot to be exported to France, which we need to exploit to the maximum through mutual cooperation. Trade is at the heart of what we do at Sialkot, and for us trade and development go hand-in-hand he said. Sarfraz further stated that Pakistan and France have always enjoyed cordial relations based on mutual trust and confidence in each other's expertise. The SCCI acting President said bilateral trade between Pakistan and France once again exceeded €1 billion (€1.13 billion), compared to €991 million for the previous year.
Pakistan has significantly benefited from the grant of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) trading facility by the European Union in 2014 which has increased our trade with France, he said. Sarfraz said, "We look forward to enhance the bilateral trade and interpersonal relations through creating effective linkages with the Embassy of France in Pakistan". In order to exploit the true potential which both the friendly countries hold, it is important for the business community on both sides to interact and create strong trading relationships, he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2016

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