PESHAWAR: Ambassador of Belgium to Pakistan Charles Delogne has said that his country wants to improve diplomatic and bilateral trade relations with Pakistan.

Addressing a gathering of business persons at Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Thursday, he said that cordial diplomatic and trade relations were established between the two countries during the last 75 years.

He said that bilateral cooperation was improved to some extent after granting GSP plus status to Pakistan. However, he stressed the need for further enhancing bilateral trade and economic relations with Pakistan, according to a statement.

The envoy said that his country was working on several social and economic projects in education, health and infrastructure sectors in Pakistan. He praised the resilience of Pakistanis for combating natural disasters and floods under the depressing economic conditions. He said that his country would continue its cooperation in multiple sectors for the economic and social development of Pakistan.

Mr Delogne also assured the traders of simplifying the process for getting a business visa of Belgium.

Earlier, SCCI acting president Ijaz Khan Afridi in his welcome address invited Belgium companies to make investment in mine, mineral and other important sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that prospects of enhancing mutual trade ties between Pakistan and Belgium were brighter.

Commercial Attaché of Belgium Embassy in Islamabad Abid Hussain, trade officer Shaukat Niazi, former presidents of SCCI Zulfiqar Ali Khan and Sherbaz Bilour, former vice president Malik Niaz Mohammad, members of executive committee of SCCI Naeem Qasmi, Kashif Amin, Hafaf Ali Khan, Javed Ahmad Khan, Laal Badshah, Munawar Khurshid, Abdul Hakim Shinwari, Qurtul Ain, Ihsanullah, Fazl-i-Wahid, Saddar Gul, Faiz Rasool and Ishtiaq Mohammad also attended the meeting.

The SCCI acting president called for establishment of business to business contacts, organising of joint exhibitions and taking benefits from each other’s experiences to further strengthen ties between the two countries.

The participants of the meeting pointed out various issues that were hampering bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries. They also put forward suggestions for resolution of those issues.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2023