June 10, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 9, 1424

SIALKOT, June 9: Romania has offered some direct trade relations to Sialkot business community for enhancing and strengthening the trade ties.

The offer was made by its ambassador Prof Dr Emil Ghitulescuhim, while addressing local traders, industrialists and exporters at Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), on Monday. Earlier he visited various leading industrial units. The SCCI president Babar Iqbal and vice president Malik Muhammad Ashraf and SVP Muhammad Sadiq Goraya were also present on the occasion.

Romanian ambassador said that there were bright opportunities for setting up various joint ventures between Rumania and Pakistan in different trade fields, as various Rumanian companies had shown keen interest in establishing joint ventures with Sialkot business community.

He said that Romania and Pakistan were enjoying good trade relations and it was high time to make effective efforts to strengthen these trade ties through accelerating the pace of mutual trade activities.

He said the Sialkot’s exporters could capture the European trade and export markets through Romania, by exporting their diversified traditional and non-traditional international standard export items there.

He said that Romania and Pakistan would soon establish a bilateral business council. He said that joint business council’s forum would be used as conduit for exchanging information between the private sectors, aimed at promoting the trading opportunities between the two countries.

Later, talking to this correspondent the ambassador said he was impressed to see the international standard craftsmanship and unmatched skills of Sialkot based industrial workers and artisans, in the field of sports, leather goods and surgical and musical instruments.