"Pakistan is a resource-rich country but it needs to focus on improving its perception in the outer world that is the biggest impediment in the way of foreign direct investment (FDI)." Ambassador of Oman Mohamed Said Mohamed Al-Lawati stated this while speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Saturday.
He said the Government of Pakistan should evolve a well-tailored marketing strategy to market its strengths in various sectors as a number of foreigners were desirous of putting their money here but were unaware of the potential areas. Had a little attention been given towards the marketing of Pakistan, the investment scenario in this part of the world would have been quite encouraging, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh emphasised the need to expand trade and business relations between Pakistan and Oman, as there was great potential for it in a number of sectors particularly energy development. He told the Oman Ambassador that despite a number of internal and external challenges being faced by the country, dynamism of the private sector had set Pakistan on a high growth trajectory.
He said Pakistan was located at the confluence of three vital regions - South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia - providing shortest access to the sea for all landlocked countries of Central Asia as well as Western China. Being close to Gwadar, Oman could hugely benefit from this unique opportunity and explore multiple corridors of co-operation with Central Asia and Western China especially in the fields of energy, trade, transportation and tourism, he said.
Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said Oman and Pakistan had a vital role to play for the cause of peace, harmony and development in this region. He said that Oman had a rich experience in oil exploration, therefore Omani companies could go for joint venture in exploration of oil in Pakistan.
Moreover, Pakistan can provide manpower services in sectors like education, health, engineering, construction and telecommunication. Both countries are moving ahead through various agreements on defence co-operation, business sectors, labour manpower and etc Pakistan-Oman Joint Investment Company which was established to enhance trade between Oman and Pakistan had got a great role to play.
He said the trend of total trade between the two countries had been inconsistent. Some improvement in 2009 was witnessed as our two-way trade figure grew from 393 million dollars to 417 million dollars. But in 2010, it was dropped to 297 million dollars. The analysis of imports from Oman further confirms this inconsistency. From 2008 to 2010, the imports were recorded as 101 million dollars, 268 million dollars and 156 million dollars respectively.
However, Pakistan's exports to Oman are constantly dipping which is the matter of concern. The exports stood 293 million dollars in 2008 which fell to 149 million dollars in 2009 and 141 million dollars in 2010. Both Pakistan and Oman need to find out reasons of this decline in exports and at the same time should explore ways to improve the level of trade for bringing some consistency in growth of trade relations.
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