KCCI urges Mauritius to lift ban on Pakistan’s meat imports

Says move will help increase volume of bilateral trade

KARACHI: A Karachi-based business delegation met Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, requesting her on Monday to lift the ban on meat imports from Pakistan.

The delegation from the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), which is currently on a visit to Mauritius, met Fakim at the State House situated in Moka District of Mauritius. The delegation briefed the president and gave suggestions on how to deal with major hurdles hindering smooth trade between the two countries

They said that officers of the Mauritian Health Department have been trying to visit Pakistan for the last two years to inspect health and hygiene conditions of Pakistan’s meat production facilities, but their visit is postponed every time due to minor issues.

They requested to send Mauritian health officers to Pakistan urgently so that the ban imposed on meat imports could be lifted, helping to improve the meagre trade volume between the two countries.

Referring to her last visit to Pakistan, KCCI’s delegation recalled that the Mauritian president assured of providing space for organising single-country exhibitions for Pakistani companies in Mauritius.

In this regard, they requested the president to ask the concerned officials to make arrangements so that the KCCI could hold a single-country exhibition which would certainly improve trade volume and bring the business communities of both countries closer to each other.

They also expressed concerns over limited period visas being issued to visitors from Pakistan for up to seven days, requesting an increase of at least up to one month to enhance business-to-business interaction.

Highlighting Mauritius’s status as the ‘gateway to Africa’, the delegation’s members expressed confidence that the country can be used the Pakistani business community to effectively penetrate into the African region where the country’s trade was almost non-existent.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2018.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.