ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Italy in Pakistan Andreas Ferrarese on Friday said that Italy and Pakistan have a potential of €4 billion bilateral trade, saying it’s perfectly doable with collective efforts of both governments and private sectors collaboration.
Talking to the Pakistan Italy Alumni Network, the Ambassador said this year trade had exponentially risen and can reach around €2 billion and in 2021 it was recorded to €1.52 billion.
It is the first time that Pakistan’s exports surpasses €1 billion and are more than imports in Italy, making Italy the second largest export destination in the European market.
He told the alumni that to achieve the €4 billion goal both countries need to enhance investments and explore new avenues of business cooperation such as in Information and renewable technologies.
Ambassador said that on August 10, during his meeting with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, he stressed the need to further enhancing the existing potential to enhance trade and investment relations between Pakistan and Italy.
The Prime Minister also showed his interest in collaborations in the renewable energy sector.
He also told the Alumni that during the last 10 years the Pakistani community in Italy had surged from 25,000 thousand to 200,000 “
He further added that Pakistan and Italy had a long history of cordial relations and cooperation in political, economic, cultural, and social spheres.
It is a matter of great satisfaction that the two nations had unanimity of views on several issues of global importance, and mutual cooperation in all fields had been on the rise.
Ambassador also urged the members of alumni to play their role in further cultural cooperation and economic integration between both countries.
Apart from business and trade, Italy has carried out significant projects in archaeology, agriculture, health, culture, and tourism.
Italy’s Archaeological Mission is one of the oldest present missions in Pakistan and has made significant contributions to Pakistan’s already rich archaeological sphere.
With a population of around 220 million and a constantly growing demand for high-end products, Pakistan remains an attractive market for Italian manufacturers and businesspeople, he concluded.
It is worth mentioning that remittances from Pakistani workers in Italy hit an all-time high.
With the figures of $711.7 million in FY22, Italy has become the seventh-largest center of worker remittances to Pakistan globally and the top one in the EU countries.
