ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: President of Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Aqeel Al Jassem, on Saturday highlighting rich natural resources, potentials and opportunities in the Muslim world called for greater cooperation among them in the fields of trade and investment.

He stated this while addressing at a seminar on "Activities of Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry and prospects of industrial cooperation between Pakistan and their counterparts in OIC member countries", at a local hotel on Saturday.

The seminar was organized by Expert Advisory Cell (EAC) Ministry of Industries and Production Government of Pakistan.

Eng. Zafar Aziz, chairman EAC, and Sohail Altaf of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry also spoke on the occasion.

Mr Aqeel who also hails from Kuwait, welcomed the signing of agreement between Pakistan and Kuwait here on February 20 for increasing trade and investment between the two countries.

He said that Islamic Chamber in its capacity as an affiliated organ of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) deals primarily with the private sector of the 57 member countries and acts as a catalyst to promote economic cooperation among the member states.

He said that OIC-ICCI has been focusing its activities in several initiatives and its main role is to assist the entrepreneurs of OIC countries to develop activities for sustainable industrial and trade development and promotion to mitigate possible marginalization due to negative impact of globalization, technology gaps and barriers to trade and industrialization.

Specific emphasis, he said is given for the improvement of industrial development strategies, industrial support infrastructures, access to markets and finance. He said that the ICCI's corporate strategy was also to focus on activities that help to develop a competitive economy and promote environmentally sustainable trade and industrial development among the Muslim countries.

The chamber has been arduously trying to accelerate the pace of industrialization in the member countries and expansion of trade, he remarked.-APP