Ahmad Dadou, Head of Economic Affairs, Royal Embassy of Netherlands Islamabad accompanied by Paul Schoenmakers visited Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. There are many opportunities for joint ventures and development projects in Pakistan, he said. For the help of flood victims, government of Netherlands will donate 25 million US $ and also taking part in rehabilitation work.
He further said, the Dutch government intends to start Private Sector Investment (PIS) projects upto 70 million Euro for various projects, whereby the diversified products will be preferred. During his presentation Paul Schoenmakers briefed that the Dutch government will start PSI Programmes in 2011 and 1.5 million Euro will be spent on every project. He briefed that private sector will bear 40 percent and Dutch Government will contribute 60 percent of the total cost of the project.
While presenting his welcome address, Sh. Abdul Qayyum, President FCCI said that Netherlands is an important trade partner of Pakistan and a gateway to Europe. With recent statistics, Pakistan's Exports to Netherlands were US $415.32 million in 2008-09 while imports from Netherlands to Pakistan were 265.72 million Dollars for the same period.
He further said that Pakistan's exports to Netherlands were US $328.25 million during the year 2009-10 and imports from Netherlands to Pakistan were to the tune of US $223.98 million during the same period. He pointed out that the volume of bilateral trade is declining while it should be higher keeping in view the global scenario.
The situation requires that there is dire need to increase the trade volume between the two friendly countries more by exploring new vistas and potential areas, he said. He suggested that frequent exchange of trade delegations, maximising market and product information to be ensured. A single country exhibition can be organised which would help a lot to enhance the trade volume between both the countries, he suggested. The meeting ended with the vote of thanks by Shabbir Hussain Chawla Vice President FCCI and shield was presented to the chief guest.
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