President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Malik Tahir Javaid on Friday stressed the need for joint ventures between the businessmen of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. According to LCCI spokesman, chamber president held productive meetings with Sri Lankan businessmen at Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FCCISL), Sri Lanka and Colombo Chamber of Commerce & Industry to increase the existing trade volume.
President of FCCISL and SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry Ruwan Edirisinghe also spoke on the occasion. Malik Tahir Javaid said that there is a vast scope for the expansion of two-way trade between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the presence of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries to further strengthen their multifaceted and multi-sectoral cooperation in the fields of herbal medicine, gem & jewellery, culture, commerce & trade, science and technology and tourism.
He said that Sri Lanka offer huge opportunities in gem and jewellery, rubber, garments, hospitality, services and there is a need to take advantage by liberal trade policies of the Sri Lankan government.
The ideal and friendly relationship between Pakistan and Sri Lanka is based on historical and cultural links as well as common understanding on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues, he added.
He said that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are members of SAARC and are enjoying good cordial relations. He said that both countries are old trade partners. He said that existing trade volume is not at par with the potential of the two countries.
"Pakistan and Sri Lanka are lucrative investment locations for each other's exporters as on the one hand Pakistan is a gateway to resource-rich Central Asian States while on the other Sri Lanka enjoys duty-free access to huge European and Indian markets", LCCI president added.
He also called for collaboration in construction, sugar, cement, paper and paper board, electronics, software development, food processing and preservation, dairy products and storage tanks, mineral mining, handicrafts, gem and jewellery and livestock breeding. The business community of the two countries should keep on exploring the opportunities of mutual interest.
He said that business delegations composed of sector-specific participants or product-specific group of entrepreneurs should be organized regularly. He said that the business houses and diplomatic missions could always join hands to yield tangible results.
He said though there has been a substantial improvement in bilateral trade after the implementation of the FTA, there are still some potential areas, which need to be explored.
LCCI is making all-out efforts to increase the volume of two-way trade between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, there is a need that the chambers of commerce in the two countries should come forward to create a win-win situation for both the sides, he added.
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