November 18, 2006	Saturday	Shawwal 25, 1427

LAHORE, Nov 17: Romania’s Deputy Prime Minister Bogdan Pascu has stressed the need for enhancing bilateral relations between his country and Pakistan, saying Romania will facilitate visits by Pakistani businessmen through a hassle free visa process.

Speaking to businessmen at the LCCI on Friday, he said Romania was facing acute shortage of manpower in construction sector and over 10,000 work permits would be issued this year. Pakistan should avail of this opportunity, he said adding that the two countries could enhance their cooperation in the fields of agriculture, alternate energy sources and IT.

Mr Pascu said that his visit to Pakistan along with a high-powered trade delegation would serve as a catalyst for economic development and prosperity of both Pakistan and Romania.

In January 2007, he said, Romania would become a member of the EU, which would give an added advantage to the businessmen to initiate joint ventures with their counterparts in his country. He urged the business community to evolve an effective and sector-specific strategy in collaboration with Romanian businessmen for increasing the volume of two-way trade.

He said that fast-changing global scenario demanded an increased economic activity and exchange of trade delegations and joint exhibitions.

Speaking on the occasion, acting LCCI president Yaqoob Tahir Izhar said there was a great potential of trade between the two countries. “Pakistan is a producer of finest quality of textile articles, apparel, carpets, surgical and sports goods, fruits and vegetables, leather products, plastic and plastic products, furniture and pharmaceutical products.

He said: “We need to identify more products through in-depth market research to increase the range of tradable products, as many potential areas and product lines remain unexplored due to lack of information about each other’s domestic markets.