Pakistan, Niger asked to focus on JVs
The business community of Pakistan and Niger should focus on exploring partnerships as both countries have a good potential to enhance business relations in many fields including agriculture, textile, food products, pharmaceuticals, auto industry and mining, said Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan.
During a dinner reception arranged for a delegation of Niger, Khan said that by developing close cooperation with Niger, Pakistan could get better access to the African market for trade and exports.
The ICCI chief added, “Africa is a big market and Pakistani entrepreneurs should ensure better penetration into Niger’s markets, which will enable them to fully tap the African region for trade and investment.”
He highlighted that Pakistan was producing several good quality products including textile, rice, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, IT products, light engineering goods, sports and leather products.
Khan emphasised that Niger’s business community should focus on importing these products from Pakistan, which would help in further improving bilateral trade between the two countries.
Speaking on the occasion, Niger’s Minister for Commerce and Trade Gabo Sabo Moctar said that his country was eager to attract foreign investment and had taken steps to improve business climate, therefore, Pakistani investors should focus on Niger for joint ventures and investment.
The minister told the business community that his government was planning to establish Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for Pakistan for investment in various sectors.
“Pakistani investors can invest in Niger in infrastructure development, agriculture, textile, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other industries,” Moctar said, adding that promoting trade with Pakistan in multiple sectors was the priority of his government.
He hoped that their current visit to Pakistan would help to set up sustainable business partnerships between the two countries.
The businessmen of Pakistan and Niger interacted with each other and exchanged views on potential areas of cooperation.
They discussed the setting up of a joint working group for exchange of experiences at the policy and operational levels to establish SEZs so that both countries could build long-term trade relations.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2021.
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