A 10-member Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) delegation has returned back after participating in triangular exhibition organized by TUMSIT in Baku (Azerbaijan). Mian Tanveer Ahmed, Senior Vice President who headed delegation told that this exhibition provided a unique opportunity to FCCI delegates to explore this virgin market, develop relations with the potential buyers and plan to contribute their role in enhancing national exports.
He told that 35 exhibitors from Pakistan had established their stalls including those from Faisalabad. He further told that Pakistani Ambassador Dr Syed Khan Mehmand also visited the exhibition while the FCCI delegation paid a reciprocated visit to the Pakistani embassy in Azerbaijan. "We also discuss various issues to further enhance the bilateral trade between the two countries on sustained basis", he added. Mian Tanveer told that Azerbaijan is full of opportunities but due to non-availability of direct flights and without commercial consular in Azerbaijan, they feel themselves handicapped to fully exploit the emerging business opportunities not only in Azerbaijan but also in the other land locked Central Asian States.
He told that the flights are available through Dubai which takes around 10 to 12 hours while in case of direct flights the travelling time would be reduced to only three hours in addition to providing the facility for air cargo. He told that in the absence of commercial consular, Pakistani exporters could not conduct the market analysis or contact the serious and reliable buyers from that country. However, in contrary to other Central Asian States, Pakistan had banking links as a branch of National Bank of Pakistan is available there.
He urged upon the government to take measures to start direct flights for Azerbaijan in addition to the appointment of a competent commercial consular.