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Thursday March 28, 2024

UK eyes key role in Pakistan’s development

By our correspondents
February 13, 2018

KARACHI: The UK government firmly desires to see more British companies doing business with, and in, Pakistan, playing an active role in the South Asian country’s economic development as both nations shared an ambition to increase their trade ties, an envoy said on Monday.

“The UK is in a strong position to participate in projects owing to its world-class strengths ensuring projects deliver strong development outcomes, deliver shared prosperity objectives and better meet international standards,” Rehman Chishti, UK’s trade envoy to Pakistan said at a meeting with Shazad Dada, CEO Standard Chartered Pakistan.

“This is my second visit … since being appointed as … trade envoy to Pakistan. I am delighted to bring with me a delegation of some of the UK’s leading companies to support Pakistan in the development of the country’s infrastructure.”

A statement quoted Chishti thanking Standard Chartered Bank for providing a forum to take this discussion further and gaining insight from key businesses that were already well established in the market.

Chishti, who is a member of British parliament, is leading a delegation of six senior business representatives from the UK’s financial, legal and professional services sector to discuss UK commercial participation in infrastructure projects in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, CEO Standard Chartered Pakistan said, the bank had a positive view on Pakistan’s economy and believed the country offered huge investment opportunities and was open for business.

“There are tremendous infrastructure opportunities for the UK businesses in Pakistan in the wake of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) once the economic zones are established.”

Dada further said Pakistan was a key trading partner of the UK and with the implementation of CPEC projects, the business communities of the two countries would potentially get even closer.

The statement said the visit to Standard Chartered was a part of a three-day visit, three city visit to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad to meet with ministers, senior government officials and businesses.

It added that the meeting was also attended by the CDC Group plc, the development finance institution owned by the UK government, which is actively looking at investment opportunities in Pakistan.

“The mission and the delegates discussed various forthcoming infrastructure projects, investment opportunities and how UK companies can play a greater role in the development of Pakistan’s infrastructure,” the statement said.