The Korean ambassador was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here. LCCI president Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, senior vice president Kashif Younis Meher, vice president Saeeda Nazar, vice president SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik and former KCCI president Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh, Mr Byung Hoon Sung, Director, Korea Business Center (KOTRA) also spoke on the occasion.
The ambassador said the Korean government was well aware of challenges being faced by the Pakistan economy and would extend every possible cooperation at the earliest.
To a question about dengue virus, the ambassador said vaccine for the virus would be made available to Pakistan if Korea had any solution to it.
The ambassador expressed the optimism that the volume of trade between Pakistan and South Korea was bound to increase as both the governments were taking measures to get the desired results.
He said non-availability of required trade- related information was the biggest hurdle in the way of South Korean investment in Pakistan.
He admitted that Korean investment in Pakistan was very little when it was compared to the potential exist in the two countries.
The diplomat while identifying a number of areas for mutual cooperation said that there was a need for expertise- sharing as both the countries had a lot to learn from each other.
He said there was a big potential in SME sector ,therefore, Pakistani business community could avail opportunities in this particular area.
He urged the LCCI to arrange a business delegation to South Korea so that Pakistani businessmen could have first hand knowledge about opportunities there.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI president Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said Pakistan took great pride in the fact that Korea was an important trading partner and appreciated and acknowledged economic growth and industrial development in Korea in the last 25 years.
The LCCI president said Korea was reckoned among the fifteen largest economies of the world having surplus balance of trade exported to the tune of US$ 468 billion in 2010.
It is, indeed, a role model for developing economies like Pakistan, he said, adding Pakistan and Korea were not new to each other and doing well through joint ventures in various fields like telecommunications, transportation, infrastructure, electronics, chemical industry, automobiles industry and etc.
He said Pakistan had a huge potential for Korean companies particularly for foreign investment in sectors like dairy, livestock, information technology, petrochemicals, electronics etc.