Pakistani goods are reaching Bosnia through different countries of the European Union but the Bosnian businessmen want direct trade with Pakistan and showed their interest in setting up of joint ventures with Pakistani companies engaged in textile and agriculture sectors.
The Bosnian businessmen have shown their keen interest in buying cooking oil, rice, home textiles, garments, leather products, ports and surgical equipment, food items and pet bottles from Pakistan. The head of a six-member Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Trade Mission, Shahid Hassan Sheikh disclosed this on his return from a five-day visit to Bosnia.
He said the main objective of Mission's visit was to explore and study the business opportunities for turning Bosnia into a hub of Pakistani products and for their onward export to Central and Eastern Europe. He said that the mission remained quite successful in achieving its goals and objectives as the trade between the two countries would get a considerable jump because of a direct linkage between LCCI and Foreign Trade Chamber of Commerce of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to him, the LCCI trade mission also had a meeting with Minister for Foreign Trade of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Bahilj and discussed ways and means to expedite the volume of two-way trade. Midhat Salic, Assistant Minister for Foreign Trade, Pakistan's ambassador to Bosnia, Jauhar Saleem also took part in the hour-long meeting and gave their view point on as to how the trade and business relation could be strenghtened.
The minister told the LCCI Mission that Bosnian economy was open for investment and the Bosnian businessmen would be extremely happy if the Pakistani businessmen invest in Bosnia. He said that Bosnia was major trading partner of European Union and Turkey and any business in Bosnia was bound to get their way to these marvellous global marketplaces.
He further said that Bosnia had two trade agreements with Pakistan and desires an early singing of Preferential Trade Agreement between the two countries and suggested that Pakistan should convene Joint ministerial meeting as early as possible. The minister also briefed the mission that as many as 500 products could be traded between the two countries. He said Bosnia also needs Pakistan's help to develop its agriculture sector, he maintained.
Leader of the LCCI Trade Mission and former LCCI President Shahid Hassan Sheikh emphasised on people-to-people contact in this regard and suggested that visa should be provided to businessmen on the recommendations of the chamber as early as possible. He called for data sharing for the promotion of trade between the two countries. The Mission also visited the office of CEO of DP Super Market which is the largest super market chain in the Bosnia who told the members that he would visit Pakistan soon to explore the market and establish long term trade relations
Shahid Hassan Shaikh further revealed that the Mission also visited the VISPAK a 39-year-old company that showed its interest to import rice and vegetable oil from Pakistan. The Mission had also meeting with Foreign Trade Chamber of Commerce of Bosnia and Herzegovina at Foreign Trade Chamber Building while the Pakistani Ambassador was also present on the occasion. The Chamber's office-bearers expressed their desire to ink MOU with the Lahore Chamber to enhance trade co-operation between two countries, he added.