'Pakistan, Canada have huge scope to strengthen economic ties'

Canadian High Commissioner Perry Calderwood has said that Pakistan and Canada have huge scope to work together to strengthen economic relations as Pakistan is a country having rich and unmatched resources. He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Wednesday. First Secretary Political Jane Alkhouri was also present on the occasion.
He said that private sectors of the two countries should promote trade, investment and economic partnership in the areas of mutual interests. He said that more areas for trade and investment should be identified as existing trade does not reflect the existing potential.
Perry Calderwood said the Canadian Embassy in Islamabad is ready to provide maximum cooperation to the Pakistani businessmen who want to do business with Canada. He said that Pakistan could take benefits from the expertise of Canada in different sectors including oil & gas, hydropower, alternative energy and transport sectors. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project has added to the importance of Pakistan, he said.
LCCI Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan said Pakistan is eager to maintain good working relations with Canadian High Commission to optimise the available options for greater trade and investment. "It is encouraging to see that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Canada is following an increasing trend. From 2013 to 2015, the volume of trade has gone up from $356 million to $657 million but the exports of Pakistan to Canada was continuously declining. In this period of time our exports dipped from $234 million to $216 million and in contrast to that imports jumped up from $122 million to $441 million", he added.
He said that this scenario has shifted the positive balance of trade in favour of Canada which should be reverted back. For that matter, Pakistan needs to have greater penetration in Canadian market. Pakistan's main exports to Canada are bed linens, articles of apparels, hosiery items, articles of leather, plastics, rice, and cotton etc. Pakistan imports oil seeds, dried vegetables, articles of wood, iron & steel and mineral fuels. He urged the Canadian High Commissioner to propose some steps that may contribute in increasing the trade volume and projecting Pakistan as a safe destination for foreign investment.