The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Pakistan-Canada Business Chamber (PCBC) on Wednesday inked a memorandum of understanding to work jointly for expansion of trade and economic ties between the two countries. According to the Lahore Chamber's spokesman, the LCCI senior vice president Khawaja Khawar Rasheed and PCBC president Shafqat Bashir signed the memorandum on behalf of their respective organizations. Both the chambers will facilitate each other's members and will provide assistance to make bilateral trade activities a success.
LCCI Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rasheed said Pakistan wants to increase its bilateral trade and investment with Canada. He said that livestock and agriculture are the two areas in which cooperation could lead to a win-win situation for both the countries. Pakistan wants to set up joint ventures in different fields besides development cooperation, people-to-people links, regional security, defence, governance and human rights, he said. A little sector-specific effort could jack-up trade volume to around $2 billion in next few years, he added.
Rasheed said this target could be achieved through exchange of businessmen delegations, organizing single country exhibitions, participation in fairs & exhibitions, seminars and workshops. He said that power, energy, agriculture, food processing, information technology & communication, metals and minerals equipment could be potential sectors for setting up of joint ventures by the Canadian businessmen.
PCBC President Shafqat Bashir said that Pakistan and Canada have huge scope to work together for strengthening economic relations between the two countries as Pakistan is a great country having rich and unmatched resources. Pakistan has a bright future therefore, the private sectors of the two countries should promote trade, investment and economic partnership in the areas of mutual interests, he said.