The British Deputy High Commissioner, Hamish St Daniel, has said that Britain is a very strong supporter of Pakistan to provide it markets access in European countries. Addressing members of Site Association of Industries (SAI) here on Wednesday.
He said that Pakistan offers very attractive investment opportunities and, in the next couple on months, a number of British trade delegations would visit Pakistan and discuss business avenues.
He said that next week a delegation of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce would visit Pakistan, whereas a telecom delegation, an education delegation and a finance delegation would visit Pakistan soon. He said that travel advice did not restrict people from visiting a country. The visitors are advised only to take precautionary measures while visiting that country.
He said that during his tenure he visited several parts of Pakistan by car--from Islamabad to Northern areas, Sialkot, Faisalabad and many other cities--and faced no problem.
Danial said that business community could play a big role in improving the image of Pakistan abroad. He advised the business community to increase interaction with business communities abroad to improve Pakistan's image. "Visit trade bodies and brief them about Pakistan, its policies, and working environment," he said.
He noted that Pak-Britain two-way trade was around $1 billion and added that balance of trade was in Pakistan's favour. The UK Deputy High Commissioner appreciated steps taken by Pakistan government in respect of intellectual property rights. He said that these steps have played a vital role in reducing piracy of books, films, drugs, CD and VCD, etc.
About nuclear power generation, he said that it was a very sensitive issue. For power generation, other options should be utilised, including coal, solar, wind and hydroelectric. He said that it is a fact that oil prices have gone very high and gas reserves are depleting fast.
Danial said that British companies are interested to participate in restructuring and modernising Pakistan railways. Replying to a question about one-day cricket series, he said he was interested in cricket series' continuation and that justice should be done in the recent incident.
Welcoming the guests, SAI Chairman Ameen Bandukda said that the current scenario offered great potential for investment from British companies to form joint ventures and enter into agreement for transfer of technology. He said that potential exists in the fields of power generation, telecommunication, iron and steel, chemicals and food processing.
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