Pakistan ripe for investment, say French senators

Delegation says EU needs to take interest in CPEC

ISLAMABAD: French senators visiting Pakistan have said France believed that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor Project (CPEC) was an important initiative.

“The security situation in Pakistan has improved considerably and the country offers vast investment opportunities,” Pascal Allizard, the senator of the county of Calvados (Normandy) and the Chairman of the France Pakistan inter-parliamentary friendship group, told reporters on Thursday.

The delegation led by Senator Allizard includes Mrs Gisèle Jourda, the senator of Aude county (Occitanie) and a member of the foreign affairs committee and Mrs Chantal Deseyne, the senator of Eureet-Loir (Centre-Val-de-Loire) and a member of the social affairs committee.

“The scope and spectrum of CPEC can be enhanced to reap maximum benefits out of this project,” Allizard noted. “The European Union should also take interest in this project by increasing its contacts with the participating countries.” The French senator said Pakistan now had found an alternative means of economic support in the shape of CPEC, reducing its reliance on the US. Speaking on investment,
Allizard said automobile companies in France wanted to set up plants in Pakistan and they were looking for suppliers for this purpose.

“The security situation has improved a lot and more French companies are eager to come to Pakistan to explore various business avenues,” he remarked. The French senator said tourism was yet another area where both Pakistan and France could work together.

“We would like to work closely with the Pakistan embassy in Paris to explore ways and means to enhance cooperation in mountain tourism,” he added. He said a seminar would be organised in collaboration with Pakistan embassy in Paris to highlight the potential of mountain tourism in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Senator Faisal Javed Khan said the government was working hard to boost the tourism sector and attract foreigners. He added that ties between Pakistan and France would strengthen in the coming days.