KARACHI: Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, President FPCCI, has said the federation and Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) have signed an agreement of cooperation for trade, investment, bilateral trade promotion and industrial activities.

Irfan said that technology transfer, industrialization and import substitution are at the very core of the FPCCI vision as it is not sustainable for Pakistan to remain an import-dependent country anymore.

“We must substitute our imports with quality products produced domestically to bring down our import bill, current account deficit (CAD) & trade deficit; and, gradually shore up our foreign exchange reserves,” he added.

The FPCCI Chief maintained that despite being a small country, Cyprus has successfully diversified their economy to establish an industrial base; equipped with the European technology.

Therefore, rather than only focusing on yet another country for imports, FPCCI & CCCI will encourage both the sides to explore investments & JV avenues through exchange of delegations, trade fairs & exhibitions and regular interactive sessions.

Irfan Iqbal Sheikh drew the attention of policymakers in Pakistan to study that how Cyprus weathered the Euro zone Financial Crisis of 2012 and how they strengthened their ease of doing business index through signing various cooperation agreements with various economies; specifically, the agreements to avoid double-taxation with 15 countries.

Suleman Chawla noted that Cyprus has become a financial, shipping and tourism hub through smartly utilizing their geographical location at the crossroads of three continents; ie, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Othonas Theodoulou, Vice President of the CCCI, signed the agreement from the Cyprus side and highlighted that the two countries can collaborate on tourism, food & beverage processing, cement & gypsum manufacturing, ship repair & refurbishment sector, textile industry, light chemicals, metal products and IT services.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022