ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) opened CARs and Azerbaijan Facilitation Desk to help its members in promoting trade and exports with Central Asian Republics and Azerbaijan.
The Desk was inaugurated by Atadjan Movlamov, Dean of Diplomatic Corps CARs and Ambassador of Turkmenistan, Khazar Farhadov Ambassador of Azerbaijan, Yerzhan Kistafin Ambassador of Kazakhstan, Ismatullo Nasredin Ambassador of Tajikistan and Ulanbek Totuiave Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan during their visit to ICCI, said a press release issued here.
Speaking on the occasion Atadjan Movlamov Dean of Diplomatic Corps CARs and Ambassador of Turkmenistan congratulated ICCI for opening a Facilitation Desk for CARs and Azerbaijan as it would boost Pakistan’s trade ties with these countries.
He said that ICCI should set up a web portal on its websites for CARs to help private sectors of Pakistan and CARs to share business proposals with each other.
Khazar Farhadov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan said that the geographical location of Pakistan is special for CARs and Azerbaijan as these landlocked countries can access many markets through Pakistani ports.
He said Azerbaijan would launch more direct flights with Pakistan to promote people-to-people and B2B ties. Yerzhan Kistafin Ambassador of Kazakhstan said that the ICCI Facilitation Desk would be a great milestone to promote trade ties. Direct flights between Almaty and Lahore and in May between Almaty and Karachi will start in April this year.
Ulanbek Totuiave Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan said that his country is keen to promote strong economic ties with Pakistan and said that the Facilitation Desk would help in achieving this goal. He said that his country will organize the Investment and Business Forum and will invite the ICCI delegation to participate.
Ismatullo Nasredin Ambassador of Tajikistan termed the Facilitation Desk a very good initiative to promote Pakistan’s business relations with CARs and Azerbaijan.
Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, ICCI said that Central Asian Republics (CARs) and Azerbaijan are estimated to be over 90-billion-dollar market with huge potential for business and investment, however, Pakistan’s trade with these countries is not up to the mark.
He said that Pakistan can export many products to these countries including textiles, leather, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, electrical appliances, communications, machinery and equipment and various services.
He said that these countries import a large variety of machinery and equipment from various sources, and Pakistan can become a major exporter of high value products. Similarly, Pakistan can import energy and other products from these countries.
He said that Pakistan also provides the shortest routes through its ports to the landlocked CARs for international trade.
He hoped that the CARs and Azerbaijan Facilitation Desk at ICCI would help the business community in identifying new areas of promoting trade and investment with these countries.
Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President ICCI said that Pakistan is a gateway for CARs, can import energy and export many products.
Khalid Iqbal Malik Group Leader ICCI stressed that the work on CASA 1000 and TAPI projects should be expedited for their completion which would bring many benefits to Pakistan’s economy.
Zafar Bakhtawari, former President ICCI also spoke on the occasion and highlighted many areas that offer good potential for business collaboration between Pakistan and CARs and Azerbaijan.
He stressed the need of regional cooperation and development as the bilateral relations are important, but real economic development is only possible through regional cooperation among Pakistan, CARs & Azerbaijan.
