Spanish Ambassador Gonzala Quntero Saravia has said that Spain has a lot of expertise in wind power and tourism and Pakistani entrepreneurs could have joint ventures in these sectors for mutual benefits. "There is a need for a free trade agreement between Spain and Pakistan," he was speaking at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday.
There was a dire need of institutionalised relations between the two countries and the Chambers of Commerce in Spain and Pakistan could play an important role for the promotion of trade relations, he said. He also urged the LCCI office-bearers to bring a business delegation to Spain so the Pakistani business community could explore opportunities. The Ambassador called for identification of areas of mutual co-operation.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry said that economic relations between the two countries remained insignificant for the past few years. The trade between Pakistan and Spain has averaged around $364 million during the last three years, which is quite small.
He said that there was a great scope of co-operation in various industrial sectors between the two countries. The possibility of undertaking joint venture in areas like pharmaceutical, electrical appliances, food items, engineering goods, agro-based products, mineral-based products and power generation sectors are very bright.
Spain was the biggest user of renewable sources of energy. "We invite our Spanish friends to invest in joint ventures with Pakistani entrepreneurs in the projects involving transfer of technology. Such experiences have been very successful in Pakistan. We hope that Spanish investors will come forward to investing in Pakistan," he said.
The LCCI President said that Spain is famous for tourism and Pakistan has historical and natural sights, which have a strong potential of earning foreign exchange if properly developed. He said that Pakistan is an agro-based economy but unfortunately it did not have technology to preserve excess agriculture produce and in this regard, the professional expertise of Spain agro-based industrial sector will be welcomed.
He said that the significance of frequent exchange of trade delegations and mutual discussions would prove beneficial for the business communities of both the countries.
He said that it is necessary that the business houses like LCCI and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Spain also play their due role. Trade fairs, single country exhibitions as well as exclusive "country weeks" can be arranged on reciprocal basis to achieve this goal. The LCCI Senior Vice President Ejaz A Mumtaz, and former President Mian Muzaffar Ali also spoke on various aspects of trade between Spain and Pakistan. Honorary Consul of Spain Zaheer Islam was also present in the meeting.
Comments
Comments are closed.