‘Pakistan needs to work on image’
Commonwealth business forum offers many opportunities.
KARACHI:
The business community of Pakistan is conspicuous by its absence in the Commonwealth Business Forum held every two years and an awareness event was held in Pakistan to invite the business community to avail of the opportunities.
The event was held here at a local hotel and the Commonwealth Business Council’s Adviser, South Asia and Corporate Governance, Arif Zaman said that the most important reason they were doing this was to get people to come to Pakistan. “That is the objective, they only come to Pakistan on the basis of trust, trust is on the basis of relationship. So we need to get the business people out there to promote Pakistan.”
Pointing out the fact that the country could do with more investors, a guest of the event during a casual conversation said, “let’s be honest, FDI is terrible in the country and we have tremendous investment opportunities. But it will take a leap of faith to get people to come to Pakistan.”
A lot of business gets done at the forum, explained Zaman. He said that there was $1 billion worth of trade transacted after the last heads of government meeting. “Malta had a quarter per cent increase in its GDP as a result.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2011.
The business community of Pakistan is conspicuous by its absence in the Commonwealth Business Forum held every two years and an awareness event was held in Pakistan to invite the business community to avail of the opportunities.
The event was held here at a local hotel and the Commonwealth Business Council’s Adviser, South Asia and Corporate Governance, Arif Zaman said that the most important reason they were doing this was to get people to come to Pakistan. “That is the objective, they only come to Pakistan on the basis of trust, trust is on the basis of relationship. So we need to get the business people out there to promote Pakistan.”
Pointing out the fact that the country could do with more investors, a guest of the event during a casual conversation said, “let’s be honest, FDI is terrible in the country and we have tremendous investment opportunities. But it will take a leap of faith to get people to come to Pakistan.”
A lot of business gets done at the forum, explained Zaman. He said that there was $1 billion worth of trade transacted after the last heads of government meeting. “Malta had a quarter per cent increase in its GDP as a result.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2011.