Australia's High Commissioner to Pakistan, Tim George and Australia's Senior Trade Commissioner to South Asia, Peter Linford hosted a function to launch the website of Pakistan-Australia Business Forum at Pearl Continental Hotel, here on Thursday.The High Commissioner had supported the revival of the PABF in Karachi in May 2010.
He recognised the work of PABF Chairman, Pervez Madraswala and other members of its executive committee in helping expand PABF membership base since then. He said the website, www.pabf.com.pk, would help PABF reach out to new members and highlight the potential, which exists for trade and investment between Australia and Pakistan.
George said he had taken personal interest in building trade links as part of a strong bilateral relationship. According to him, the two-way trade relationship, which grew by 16 percent last year to rupees 67 billion, shows excellent potential to grow even further. He said the bottom line is this - the more trade we can build between our countries, the greater will be the economic impact and the more jobs we will create in Australia and in Pakistan.
The HC, on the occasion, also spoke about how economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region and liberalisation of trade and investment helped unleash full potential of Australian economy. Although these reforms were not easy, average Australian family was much better off as a result. With regard to the country's long term commitment to Pakistan, as reflected in an increased level of bilateral engagement across the board in recent years, the HC said Australia stands ready to play a supportive role in helping Pakistan meet its current challenges, including economic reforms. During the reception, Australia's Honorary Consul in Lahore and Chairman and CEO of Netsol, Salim Ghauri spoke about Australia's relations with Pakistan and the benefits of increasing bilateral trade.