French envoy evolves special action plan to boost trade with Pakistan

French Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Mark Barety has said that his first goal is to promote trade between the two countries for which he has evolved special action plan. He was speaking at a meeting with the office-bearers and executive committee members of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, here on Thursday. He said help to French and Pakistani businessmen to visit each other's country, exchange of valuable trade, business and investment-related information and ease of visa processing included in action plan for boosting mutual trade relations.
He said new French president is taking various initiatives for economic stability of the country. He said regulations are being simplified to make business in France easy. He said a tax scheme has also given to reduce the number of taxes. The Ambassador said that Pakistan needs to make its perception better as a number of French companies are shy to come here. He said French travel advisory for businessmen should be changed as Pakistan, particularly Punjab, is the safest place for business.
He also called for product diversification saying that most of the trade between the two countries is in textile sector. He said that Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry can contact French Embassy in Pakistan any time in case of any problem. Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid said that among the top exporting and importing countries for Pakistan in European Union, France is ranked at 7th and 5th places respectively.
While sharing some trade figures, the LCCI President said that in 2015, the total volume of bilateral trade was US 778 million dollars which surged to $817 million in 2016. The main reason of that increase was consistent rise both in imports and exports to France. From 2015 to 2016, the exports to France registered an increase of 3.3 percent whereas the imports from France went up by 6.5 percent, he added. "This trend needs to be continued. Pakistan exports menswear, women's suits, cotton waste, hosiery items, and rice etc to France. Pakistan's imports from France consist of electrical machinery & appliances, pharmaceutical products, dairy produce and organic chemicals", he maintained.
"Pakistan offers a vast scope of joint ventures in the fields of pharmaceuticals, energy, food processing, mining, oil and gas exploration. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor would be offering great advantages to the French investors," he said He also urged the visiting guest to arrange a catalogue exhibition of French companies. He said that Pakistan is the best place for investment as things have remarkably improved.