In a rare display of foresight, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Canada Tariq Azim Khan has invited Canadian companies to benefit from the investment opportunities in Pakistan emerging from economic boom and the demographic dividend, this newspaper reported yesterday. But is that wooing going to work?

Meeting the President of Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, Azim noted that trade between Pakistan and Canadas Manitoba province has almost doubled during the last two years. This column is not privy to province-wise trade numbers, but the official figures reported by the State Bank of Pakistan show that Pakistan-Canada trade relationship hardly exists. Bilateral trade has averaged less than a percent of Pakistans total trade between FY04 and FY16.

Similar is the situation when it comes to portfolio investments, which doesnt require as big a commitment as FDI. However, according to SBP data, portfolio investment flows from Canada between FY11 and FY16 totalled about $13 million as against $1.1 billion from all over the world.