ISLAMABAD: Germany can help Pakistan in renewable energy, and there were rooms to further strengthen the bilateralrelationshipbetween the two countries, Alfred Grannas,the German ambassador to Pakistansaid on Friday.

“To improve Pakistan’s economy, I would encourage German companies to explore Pakistan for business and investment,” he said while talking to a delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) in his office.

The German ambassador said that his country shareddeep tieswith Pakistan and added that he could help establish ICCI contacts with the German trade promotion agency in Dubai to enhance business linkages between the private sectors of both the countries.

He also said that Germany can also cooperate with Pakistan in the electric vehicles sector.

The ICCI members asked the envoy that Germany should cooperate with Pakistan in solar energy to cope with the energy shortage and provide cheap electricity to the people and develop cooperation in the construction sector.

The ICCI president Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari said that the current bilateral trade between the two countries was around $4 billion, but the potential was much higher.

Mr Bakhtawari stressed for strong business linkages between the private sectors of Pakistan and Germany to explore all untapped areas of business cooperation.

He said that over 40 German companies were already working in Pakistan in various sectors including chemicals, pharmaceuticals and automobile.

“But we would want more German companies to take advantage of the investment opportunities in Pakistan,” he said adding that with a huge population of around 230 million consumers Pakistan was a significantly attractive market.

He also invited the German Ambassador to visit ICCI for an interaction with the business community.

The ICCI delegation thanked Germany for cooperating with Pakistan in many areas including energy saving, education and skills development and said that being an advanced country, Germany can help Pakistan in improving its economy.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2023