An eleven-member business delegation, headed by LCCI Executive Committee Member Mian Tariq Rehman, on Tuesday left for Tashkent on a four-day visit to Uzbekistan. The delegation has in its fold businessmen belonging to pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, foodstuff, biotechnology, steel, construction, furniture, travel and tourism.
All eleven members of the delegation, including Mian Tariq Rehman, Faisal Iqbal Sheikh (LCCI Vice President), Shahzad Azam Khan, Mohammad Haroon, Mian Jabbar Khalid, Dr Shahid Raza, Kashif Younas Meher, Asad Ijaz Mumtaz, Shahzada Danyal Farooq, Yousaf Jamil Rizvi and Bilal Bashir are experts in the respective area of business. The delegation is scheduled to have a number of high-profile business meetings, including one-on-one meeting at Tashkent Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI).
Pakistan Ambassador in Uzbekistan has also arranged a dinner in honour of LCCI delegation wherein top Uzbek government functionaries and businessmen would also participate. The delegation would also conduct a market survey during its stay in Uzbekistan, so that Pakistani businessmen could get knowledge of the potentials available in the Uzbekistan market.
The delegation would also review the MoU, the LCCI had signed with Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI). Active engagement of the business community, frequent exchange of economic and trade delegations to identify the areas of mutual interest, arranging of single country exhibitions and exchange of information between countries are among the key objectives of the LCCI delegation.
The leader of the LCCI delegation Mian Tariq Rehman, before leaving for Uzbekistan, said that the trade between the two countries had considerably increased over the last few years. Goods worth $20 million were traded between the two countries in 2008 compared to only 13 million dollars in 2006. During the year 2008 Pakistan imported goods worth 18.024 million dollars, its export to Uzbekistan were only 2.8 million dollars.
He said another striking feature of Pakistan's trade with Uzbekistan was that Pakistan's exports to Uzbekistan were on the decline. While Pakistan's exports to Uzbekistan amounted to 6 million dollars in 2004 and exports were only 1.75 million dollars only.
Mian Tariq Rehman said that all these figures show that the two countries need to exploit their potential in trade. For instance Uzbekistan can meet its requirements of cereals, medical apparatus, pharmaceutical products, fish, toys & games, beverages, sugar confectionery etc from Pakistan to a great extent, which it is meeting from other countries.
Similarly Pakistan can import inorganic chemicals, iron and steel, mineral fuels and fertilisers from Pakistan. He said Pakistan is building multiple corridors for co-operation in energy, trade and transportation sectors, which would create opportunities for Uzbekistan. It is hoped that the trade and economic links being built by Pakistan would contribute towards peace, stability and prosperity in the region.