Pakistan and Poland have enjoyed excellent and close relations for long time, almost since inception of Pakistan. Diplomatic relation between these two countries was established in 1962 but since 1948, both countries have shared deep rooted political and business relations Historically the two countries had old ties going back to 1940 during the Second World War.
When Karachi city hosted about 30,000 refugees from Poland and the level of co-operation at that time is further evident from the fact that a Polish officer was allowed to join Pakistan air force in the 1960s.
Another great example of Pakistan and Poland friendship would be in the shipping industry with the fact that till early 90's, Polish flag vessels used to occupy around 30% of the berths at Karachi Port at any given time, which greatly facilitated the enhancement of trade to and from Pakistan, especially to Europe. At that time, National Carrier of Poland, namely Polish Ocean Lines was serving Pakistani trade and was having such extensive operations here that it had opened its own office and used to have permanent Polish representatives stationed in Pakistan.
Poland was a strong ally of Pakistan among the Soviet block of which it was a member by force. Among all the countries in the block, Poland had considerable trade with Pakistan. Looking back at history of these two countries bilateral ties, it should only provide encouragement to further strengthen the economic and political relations.
Pakistan's current government has a clear vision to do just that which is evident by the recent visit of our President to Poland. To further enhance the trade between Pakistan & Poland, President General Pervez Musharraf visited Poland with a trade delegation on 28th April 2007.
His visit was a great success as a number of agreements and MOUs were signed between the two countries, which included a co-operation agreement on International Affairs, Development of Small and Medium Enterprises, co-operation in the field of Science, Education and Culture and there was a MOU signed for co-operation between Chamber of Commerce and Industry between both the countries. Last but not the least, an agreement was signed for the National Defence of both the countries.
Our President was given a very warm reception and indeed we would reciprocate the same when Polish leadership visits Pakistan. It would be an ideal follow up to President's visit to Poland as either Polish President or Prime Minister can head a delegation of Polish entrepreneurs to Pakistan to explore many investment opportunities and trade potential that Pakistan now offers.
Polish businessmen and businesswomen can explore various attractive projects in power, oil & gas, communication, steel, chemical, real estate and other sectors as well as can explore Pakistani market for Polish products.
My personal association with Poland is over 20 years old, as around mid 80's, my company Hussain Trading Agencies (Private) Limited got involved in carriage of break-bulk cargo from Pakistan to Europe on Polish Ocean Lines vessels. Due to this, I have travelled to Poland many times in past 20 years, which enabled me to explore and acquire good knowledge about this great country. During early 90's, my company also got the distinction of becoming General Agents for Polish Ocean Lines in Pakistan.
In my personal capacity, I would always try my best to encourage and promote commercial interaction between our great countries. As per my experience and knowledge or Poland, I feel both countries can benefit greatly from each other's strengths and infrastructure.
My company HTAL and AUREX LPG (Poland's major solution provider and equipment supplier for LPG Gas Stations) signed an agreement to market their products in Pakistan AUREX LPG is a Polish company and has vast experience and expertise in LPG industry of Poland, so their guidance in this regard will be of great assistance and importance for our country LPG industry.
I would also like to take this opportunity to elaborate the important role Poland can play in the development of Gwadar port especially in the formation of logistics routes for instance, Pakistan has the best geographical proximity to Western China and via Afghanistan to landlocked CIS states. Similarly, Poland is located in the central of Europe and can serve as hub into the East and Central European countries thus. Gwadar Port Authority, shipping & logistics companies can work together with Polish counterparts to develop services to utilise the advantages of their locations to increase the trade flow through their ports for these landlocked countries.
I must also thank and acknowledge the Consul General of Poland in Karachi, Honourable Mr Ireneusz Makles for his continuous and tireless efforts to promote trade and economic relations and cultural interaction between Poland and Pakistan and for being so helpful in providing assistance to the business community. In the end I wish the Government and the People of Poland prosperity and a happy future.
(The writer is Vice Chairman, Pakistan Poland Business Forum, Managing Director, Hussain Trading Agencies (Pvt) Ltd).