"Nordic Pakistan Business Summit (NPBS) will be held at the start of next year in Finland. Pakistani business community must participate in this event as it would provide them a platform to establish new business contacts in Nordic region (Finland, Denmark, Norway Sweden etc)."
Pakistani Honorary Consul General in Finland Wille Eerola stated this while talking to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Vice President, Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan here on Tuesday. Wille Eerola said that Finland and Pakistan have a huge scope to expand relations in various sectors of the economy therefore the private sector in Pakistan should enhance its interaction with Finnish counterparts. The existing trade volume between Pakistan and Finland is enough to make the point that both sides have multifaceted and strong trade ties, he added.
A number of Finnish companies had already recognised Pakistan's potential and are working here, he said. Speaking on the occasion, Nasir Hameed Khan said that joint venture opportunities exist in the field of power generation and for development of biomass technology. Finnish equipment and technologies can help exploit Pakistan's full potential in agriculture, horticulture, dairy and livestock sectors, he said and suggested the both countries must have access to each other's markets to further expand commercial and economic ties.
He said LCCI values to have greater interaction with the Finnish counterparts to develop close linkages. Pakistan can partner with the Finnish technological think tank for development of technological industry in Pakistan, he said. LCCI vice president said that over 400 Finnish companies are currently operating in South Asian Region and had made substantial investment in the last ten years in this part of the world and business community here is of strong hope that more Finnish investors would divert their attention towards Pakistan in coming days.
Earlier, LCCI Executive Committee Members Adnan Khalid Butt and former executive committee member Raja Adeel Ashfaq threw light on potential of Punjab province and said that Pakistan is a land of opportunities as it offers huge dividend on foreign investments.
Major items of imports from Finland include electric appliances, tapes for sound records, parts for motor engines, enzymes, chemical wood pulp, newsprint, pressure reducing valves, electric transformers, paper & paperboard, polymers of ethylene, electric motors & generators. Pakistan's top exports to Finland are articles of apparel & clothing, woven fabric (synthetic staple fiber), woven cotton fabric, bed, table, kitchen linens, articles & equipment of gymnastics, men's suits & jackets, articles of cutlery, women suits & dresses, gloves, mittens, electro medical apparatus, track suits & T-shirts.