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| December 17, 2002 | Tuesday | Shawwal 12, 1423 |
Poland keen to invest in oil, gas sectors, says envoy
ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: Poland is looking forward to investing in the oil and gas sectors in Pakistan, the Polish envoy, Tamasz Kozlowski, said here on Monday.
He was talking to journalists at the Institute of Strategic Studies.
“This area has a lot of potential and needs to be explored. Polish oil and gas companies have already signed an agreement with Pakistan for exploration in Balochistan,” he said.
For Poland, Pakistan is an important partner in South Asia and wants to enhance ties with it not only in trade and economic sectors, but social, cultural and other areas which remain unexplored, he said. He said his country would happily extend support to Pakistan in ship-building and aviation industries.
“Our policy is to attract foreign investment to Poland as well as invest in other countries,” he said. He was optimistic about investment in which transfer of technology from Poland to Pakistan could take place.
Poland imports cotton, rice, textiles, leather products and also wishes to import fruits and vegetables, he said. In the last six years exports from Pakistan to Poland have registered a steady growth, he added.
Our bilateral trade will reach $15 million this year, he said.
Earlier, speaking at a seminar on “Forty years of Pak-Polish Relations” at the institute, the envoy said the two countries enjoyed good ties which would further grow with the passage of time. Poland and Pakistan established diplomatic relations on October 17, 1962. This eastern European country got admission into European Union on December 13 and would be given full membership in May 2004.
Mr Kozlowski said Poland and Pakistan should join hands for combating the scourge of drug trafficking, terrorism, money- laundering and the negative aspects of globalization.
He said his country had declared full support to Pakistan and appreciated its role in war on terrorism.
“We started consultations with Pakistan on foreign secretaries level in January 2001 in a move to deepen the relations,” he said.
Poland favours dialogue between India and Pakistan on the basis of Simla Accord and Lahore declaration, he said.
“Our stand on the issue is very clear. The two neighbours should settle their differences through table talk,” he added.—Junaid Bahadur
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