Trade-guild: Canada presses investors to enter joint ventures

Diplomat highlights mining, engineering, IT and education as potential areas.

KARACHI:

Canadian High Commission Political and Trade Counsellor Denis Chouinard has suggested that Pakistani and Canadian investors could invest and undertake joint ventures in different sectors particularly mining, medical, engineering, information technology and education.

“We want to create linkages between business communities of both countries,” he said, while talking to Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Acting President Muffasar A Malik during a visit to the chamber.

Chouinard pointed out that although trade between the two countries had decreased slightly last year, the situation was improving and the Canadian government was keen to do more in this regard.

To a question, he said three visa application centres had been established in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore in order to facilitate the visa process and provide hassle-free services to Pakistanis intending to visit Canada.



He said around 2 million people from this region were living in Canada, of which one million were from India and 300,000 from Pakistan. The rest were from neighbouring countries including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh among others.

“Canadians of Pakistani origin are contributing to the economy and enriching the multicultural fabric of the country,” he remarked.

“Canada is eager to boost trade ties with Pakistan and various measures have been taken for wooing foreign investment.”

KCCI Acting President Muffasar A Malik said the chamber had always supported the slogan, “We want trade not aid” and called for minimising trade barriers between the two countries.

He stressed the need for exchanging more trade delegations, individual visits of businessmen and officials, holding single-country exhibitions in each other’s country coupled with joint ventures and better travel facilities, which would lead to a rapid expansion in bilateral trade and investment.

Trade volume between Pakistan and Canada stood at $379 million in 2012-13, of which Pakistan’s exports were $228 million against $225.80 million in 2011-12 and imports totalled $151 million against $365.10 million in 2011-12.

“The balance of trade remained in favour of Canada from 2006 to 2012. However in 2012-13, a drastic reduction in Pakistan’s imports turned the balance in favour of Pakistan,” Malik said. “This steep reduction was mainly driven by a decline in import of oilseeds, dried vegetables and coal.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2013.

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