Honorary Consul of Pakistan in Belgium Luc Meurrens has called for sector specific measures to take the two-way trade volume to the desired level. He was speaking at a meeting with the office-bearers of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, here on Thursday. He said that though the trade between Pakistan and Belgium is growing steadily over the years yet there is a lot of room for maximizing the mutual trade and economic ties.
He said the exchange of trade delegations and trade fairs are the most effective marketing tools in this fast changing global scenario. LCCI Acting President Khawaja Khawar Rasheed said that Belgium is vital trading partner of Pakistan in European Union. Among the top importing and exporting destinations of Pakistan in EU, Belgium comes at 3rd and 6th places respectively. It is encouraging that the bilateral trade has first time crossed over a billion dollars, he said.
In 2015, the level of bilateral trade was US 817 million dollars which increased to $1.22 billion in 2016. During last two years, the trade between the two countries was on the rising trend, he said. "Pakistan's exports to Belgium registered 10 percent increase in a year whereas the imports from Belgium to Pakistan went up by 154 percent. We need to maintain this trend while focusing more on increasing the exports to Belgium," he added. He said that there are good prospects for undertaking joint venture projects in Pakistan with the help of Belgian experience and technical know-how in the fields of agro food processing, chemicals, paper & board, dairy and fertilizers.