The United Kingdom is a region of exciting opportunities for being gateway to 370 million customers in Europe and having a huge potential in engineering, information technology, biotechnology, healthcare, education and tourism for Pakistani businessmen.
Brian Cleasby, Lord Mayor of Leeds stated this while speaking at a reception arranged by Leeds Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the honour of 15-member visiting delegation of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. Nazir Chaudhry, representative of Leeds Chamber of Commerce and Industry, head of LCCI delegation Kashif Younas Mehar also spoke on the occasion.
According to reports received at the LCCI, the Lord Mayor said that the volume of trade was bound to double in near future, as consistency in policies and economic reforms are a source of inspiration for the potential foreign investors. He appreciated the economic stability achieved by Pakistan during the recent years.
Brian Cleasby further said that Pakistan was going through an exciting period. Improvement in economy, high growth, increase in GDP and political stability achieved during the last seven years are unrivalled in its history and contributing to elimination of poverty. He further said the openness of economy has encouraged global investors and international companies to expand their operations in Pakistan.
He was of the view that that the success of Pakistan's reform agenda has not been fully brought to the attention of the world and said the success of reform agenda was a hidden secret, which needed to be publicised more.
The Lord Mayor spoke at length on various issues, and said that the visit of Pakistani delegation would not only raise the level of trust between the two countries but would also help remove lacunae in the way of two-way trade between Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
He said that Britain, being the largest investor in Pakistan, wanted to multiply its investment and is taking all necessary steps in this regard. He assured the participants that the British government would continue to facilitate Pakistani businessmen for the promotion of trade between the two countries.
Speaking on the occasion, the head of LCCI delegation Kashif Younas Mehar said that a lot of progress could be made on trade front through identification of new tradable items and this is possible through the active engagement of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the two sides. Participation of Pakistani exporters in the international trade fairs in UK and vice versa can also expand trade between the two countries.
He further said that Pakistan offered good scope for investors in information technology, telecommunication, infrastructure, textiles (value addition), oil and gas, water and power, food and food processing, SMEs, engineering, tourism and services.
We are particularly keen in British investments that could provide transfer of technology to Pakistan. He said that Pakistan is energy deficient and cannot sustain 7.8 percent GDP growth rate without meeting its energy needs. He urged the British government to provide civilian nuclear technology to Pakistan and also allow its companies to invest in energy projects in the designated industrial parks. Lahore Chamber of Commerce is particularly keen in British investments that could provide transfer of technology to Pakistan and help Pakistan become a knowledge-based economy, he added.
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