Consul General of Sri Lanka, HMB Herath, has said that Sri Lanka and Pakistan share close relations and these can be further strengthened by increasing bilateral trade. Speaking at a meeting of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), he said that frequent exchange of trade delegations and quick dissemination of trade and investment opportunities could help boost two way trades substantially.
He informed that Sri Lanka would sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China soon. Former President KCCI, Majyd Aziz, said that Sri Lanka had the skills to cut, polish and shape gemstones into world class jewellery. Jewellers in Pakistan can avail this opportunity by opting for joint ventures and learning new technical skills to enable them to make world class jewellery by mutual co-operation. He said that Pakistan has many attractive religious sites for Buddhists, which should be prompted to attract tourists from Sir Lanka.
He suggested establishment of trade dispute resolution committee comprising of members from Sri Lanka and Pakistan. President KCCI, Abdullah Zaki, said that trade relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka were extensive and based on mutual co-operation.
He said during fiscal year 2013, Pakistan exported goods worth 344.71 million dollars to Sri Lanka while goods imported by Pakistan from Sri Lanka were 67.06 million dollar. The balance of trade is in favour of Pakistan, he added. He said that the FTA between Sri Lanka and Pakistan had worked well as the trade volume has significantly increased and expected to further increase in future. He said that the businessmen and investors should look for opportunities in the agriculture, textile, tourism, real estate, energy and IT sectors which are attractive investment sectors in both the countries.