Pak-Africa Trade Development Conference in Nairobi from Jan 30-31

• Over two hundred delegates from twenty African countries are going to participate in the conference which is arranged by Pakistan Missions abroad
• The participating countries include Pakistan, Kenya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Niger, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Mauritius, Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.
• The Foreign Minister and Trade Minister of Kenya have confirmed their participation while Kenyan government would provide full support for the event.

ISLAMABAD: The ministry of Commerce, under the “Look Africa Policy initiative”, is going to organize a two-day 'Pakistan - Africa Trade Development Conference' in Nairobi, Kenya which would start on January 30,2020.

The conference is first of its kind, as over two hundred delegates from twenty African countries are going to participate in the conference which is arranged by Pakistan Missions abroad, said a press release issued by Ministry of Commerce here on Friday.

The participating countries include Pakistan, Kenya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Niger, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Mauritius, Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.

Adviser to PM on Commerce and Textile, Razak Dawood and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mehmood Qureshi would lead the Pakistani delegation.

The Foreign Minister and Trade Minister of Kenya have confirmed their participation while Kenyan government would provide full support for the event which would be inaugurated by President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta.

The State Minister of Trade from Uganda is also going to attend the conference.

A delegation of over hundred leading Pakistani companies in major export sectors including Textile and Apparel, Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture (Rice, Sugar, wheat etc.) Tractors & Agricultural Implements , Banking and Transportation, Surgical instruments, Leather & Sports Goods , Light Engineering and Electronics, Information Technology (IT) software, Cement and Construction services having potential in Africa, has been arranged by Trade and Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).

In the conference, Pak-Africa relations will be discussed, especially the ways and means to enhance trade, develop banking and transportation channels, improve engagement and connectivity and remove tariff and non-tariff barriers.

A presentation on “business and investment opportunities in Pakistan” will be given, followed by sectoral presentations by Pakistani businessmen, presentations by African trading blocs/countries. In addition to the conference, Business to Business, Government to Business and government to government meetings are arranged.

Pakistan’s trade with Africa has remained stagnant at USD 3 billion per year from 2012-13 to 2016-17, which has increased to USD 4.6 billion in 2018-19.

Main reason of the low trade volume had been low level of engagement of Pakistan with Africa.

In order to enhance trade and increase outreach to major African economies, the Ministry of Commerce launched “Look Africa Initiative”, which envisaged various measures to enhance trade with Africa.

In 2019, the Ministry of Commerce has relocated six Commercial Sections from Europe to Africa taking the total number to ten, to cover top ten economies of Africa.