Czech businessmen for promoting trade relations with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Vice President, Confederation of Industry of Czech Republic, Frantisek Chaloupecky said the business community of his country was interested in promoting trade relations with Pakistan, and would support every effort initiated in this regard.

In a statement issued Monday, he said information technology, telecom, and software were the booming sectors in Czech Republic and Pakistani economy could benefit by promoting cooperation in these areas.

He was talking to a delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) led by its President Atif Ikram Sheikh. The ICC visited the Czech Chamber of Commerce and Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic in Prague to explore possibilities for business collaborations.

Chaloupecky said Czech Republic was known for high quality agricultural technology and machinery, and Pakistan being an agriculture country could enhance productivity in cooperation with Czech Republic.

Both sides discussed the ways and means to further improve business relations. They stressed upon exchanging trade delegations to identify new areas of mutual cooperation and bring both countries even closer in trade and economic fields.

Atif Ikram Sheikh said that Czech Republic was an important country for Pakistan for accessing European markets. He said the bilateral trade of around $160 million between the two countries was far below the true potential.

He said the main reason of low trade volume was trade in a limited range of products. Pakistan imports from Czech Republic are mainly toilet papers and tissues, milk powder, machinery, products of defence industry, textile machines, and machine tools, whereas the exports mostly comprise textiles and garment products.

Sheikh stressed that both countries should focus on diversification of trade to improve the trade volume. He briefed about the investment potential in various sectors of the Pakistani economy.

He said China Pakistan Economic Corridor would start a new era of business and investment opportunities in Pakistan, especially in infrastructure development, energy, and other sectors. Pakistan was located at the crossroads of three important regions with easy access to lucrative markets in Central Asia, Middle East, and South Asia. Sheikh said it was good time for Czech investors to explore Pakistan for investment and joint ventures.