Deputy High Commissioner and Director UK Trade and Investment (Pakistan), Francis Campbell has said United Kingdom and Pakistan are enjoying highly cordial relations for a long time and with the passage of time these relations will further strengthen.
Addressing the members of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) on Tuesday, he said that business communities of both the countries could play an important role in enhancing the volume of two-way trade between United Kingdom and Pakistan.
He disclosed that the British prime minister during his visit to Pakistan had fixed trade target of 2. 5 billion Pounds and to achieve the target, working together is a must. He added that collective efforts were direly needed for improving bilateral trade between the two countries.
There was a great scope for enhancing trade in "Services Sector" and business community of Pakistan should concentrate and identify the new venues in this area, he said. Campbell further informed the house that at present as many as 100 British companies are running their business for many years in Pakistan with the growth potential of 15 to 20 percent annually and non of these companies wanted to leave Pakistan. United Kingdom is the second biggest partner of Pakistan in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) after the US, he revealed.
In his address of welcome President SCCI Ghulam Mustafa Choudary said that Pakistan is an ideal country for FDI having and relations between Pakistan and UK are based on mutual trust. Bilateral trade was approximately $ 1.7 billion in 2010 and Pakistan's share in UK imports is only 0.20 percent, which needed to be enhanced with the co-operation of British government, he said. This visit would promote a better understanding and strengthen mutual economic relations between the two countries, he added.
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