Expo Pakistan fosters business deals with international traders

Participation in the expo is at an all-time high says federal commerce secretary

KARACHI: Participation in our event is at an all-time high, with 750 participants from 85 different countries from every region and continent in the world, said Federal Secretary for Commerce Younus Dagha on the second day of Expo Pakistan, 2017.

"We have also received 5,000 requests for business-to-business meetings, which we have been trying to organise at the venue of the exhibition, offices and factories," he told The Express Tribune.

Dagha added that on the sidelines of the expo they have also launched a campaign called 'Emerging Pakistan' to reposition Pakistan as an emerging market with a strong economic potential.

Delegations from Vietnam, the Netherlands, Jordan, Argentina and Turkey met Federal Minister for Commerce Mohammad Pervaiz Malik, Dagha and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Secretary Inamullah Khan and discussed bilateral trade hurdles and opportunities, and how they could be addressed in order to increase trade with Pakistan.



Leading businessmen from the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) also held meetings with the trade delegations from Russia, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Tunisia, Australia, Vietnam, Netherlands, Jordan, Argentina, Italy, Kenya, Belgium, Japan, Turkey, Sweden and Lithuania on the expo’s second day.

In addition to this joint business councils of the FPCCI with the UK and Morocco also met on the occasion. The FPCCI signed a memorandum of understanding with its counterpart from Hong Kong and they expect to sign an MoU with their Australian counterparts.

TDAP also arranged outside meetings of businessmen from Thailand and Bangladesh with the Sindh Board of Investment to explore the possibilities of investment opportunities in the province. A meeting of the office bearers of Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce was also held during the expo.

The delegation from Vietnam raised the issue of lack of direct payment between Pakistan and Vietnam, which was hurting the trade interests of the two countries. A decision was reached to resolve the matter by arranging a meeting between the banking authorities of the two countries.



Besides this, a number of trade deals were negotiated by Towellers with buyers from the UK, United States and Europe. The trade delegation from the Netherlands, led by the Pakistan Ambassador at The Hague, is biggest in the history of such delegations from the Netherlands to Pakistan. The Qatari delegation showed particular interest in setting up food chains outlets in Pakistan.