ISLAMABAD, June 28: A joint venture agreement between Menzing Industries Toelevening, the Netherlands, and Research and Development Engineering Company Pakistan was signed here on Wednesday.

According to an EDB statement, the Dutch company would offer technology to its Pakistani counterpart and train personnel for achieving higher manufacturing standards.

Harold Vreeman and Erik Jansen of Menzing Industries, Omar Zaman and Rumi Moiz of Research and Development Engineering Company, Imtiaz Rastgar, CEO EDB, and Martin Leushuis, Chairman of VMO, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. The Engineering Development Board has sponsored the agreement.

Mr Rastgar on the occasion said the agreement was signed in record time of three months. He also praised Mr Martin Leushuis for promoting bilateral ties between Pakistan and the Netherlands.

The EDB chief said there were many talented businessmen in Pakistan who were given the chance, and training could be made available to European counterpart companies for making them more competitive.

Mr Martin described the agreement as beneficial for the future of the Netherlands and Pakistan. He said 85 per cent companies in the Netherlands were SMEs and they were keen to have business partners in Pakistan.

He promised that more and more Dutch companies would have joint ventures with Pakistani companies in future, as there were many similarities between trade and business communities of both the countries.