Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Thursday that he was willing to allocate land for establishment of a German Economic Zone in the province. Speaking at at the German Consulate General at the annual meeting of the German-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he invited the representative of the GPCCI to hold discussions with the Sindh government on matters related to the establishment of the new zone. In his own remarks later, Qazi Sajid Ali, the president of the GPCCI, said he had already requested the chief minister to allocate land for the proposed zone.
The chief minister said it is positive development for Sindh that GPCCI has its main office in Karachi, the regional offices being in other cities of Pakistan. Established in May 2016, GPCCI is the only European chamber of commerce and industry in Pakistan. Sindh being rich in mineral resources, the chief minister noted, has 175 billion tons in coal reserves, adding that the province has the potential to produce 50,000MW of wind power and has the untapped potential for solar energy is worth thousands of megawatts.
Germany's ambassador Martin Kobler said in his remarks that bilateral trade is increasing between the two countries. Pakistan's exports to Germany increased to $1.5 billion he said, and its imports from Germany are around $1.1 billion, which means that their trade balance is in Pakistan's favour. The potential remains huge for further increase in the existing trade volume between the two countries, he added. He also referred to the German government's support in the education, economic and energy sectors in Pakistan. A large number of businessmen and industrialists, apart from the diplomats, attended the event.