TORONTO, Aug 27: There is a great potential of boosting two-way trade between Islamabad and Ottawa, said leader of Pakistani trade delegation which is currently visiting Canada.

Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi, who is heading a 16-member delegation, told newsmen here on Monday that Pakistani businessmen are focusing their attention on Canadian market to enhance their trade. He said members of his delegations held very useful meetings with local traders and industrialists in Toronto on Monday morning.

Qureshi, who is also vice-chairman of Export Promotion Bureau, said he would hold talks with Canadian officials in Ottawa next week on the promotion of bilateral trade ties between the two countries.

The delegation, which arrived here earlier this week, spent another busy day on Monday. Besides holding meeting with their Canadian counterparts, the delegation attended a reception hosted by Anwar Merchant, chairman of Canada-Pakistan Business Council.

Earlier, new consul general of Pakistan Ghalib Iqbal hosted a lunch for the trade delegation and hoped that their visit would further strengthen trade between Pakistan and Canada.

On Sunday members of the delegation attended a dinner hosted by Qamar Sadiq, chairman of Multi-cultural Society of Pakistani Canadians in Markham, 30km east of Toronto. The delegation is also taking part in the current Canadian national exhibition where Pakistani exporters and manufacturers have set up eight booths to display their products. The items being displayed include sports good, surgical equipment, readymade garments, leather goods, canned food, jewellery, etc.

Meanwhile, Ejaz Qureshi in an interview with Dawn, said the main purpose of his visit is to establish contacts with Canadian business houses to enhance his country’s trade. He said Islamabad would face no difficulty in achieving its present export target of $10.4 billion. “We already crossed the $9 billion export mark last year when conditions were somehow difficult,” he said.

Pakistan, he said, had great potential to achieve any given export target. Explaining, he said Pakistan was now producing quality products. “In last few years, we have improved quality of our products. In the past quality was a serious issue. It’s not an issue now.”

Pakistani delegation will visit Ottawa and Montreal before returning home on September 3.