Quetta, March, 16: The Balochistan investment mission conferences on ‘Gwadar Port City’ held at Dubai, London, Warsaw and Geneva produced very encouraging response, particularly from the British and Polish business community.

President Balochistan Economic Forum Sardar Shoukat Aziz Popalzai said this while talking to newsmen here on Friday.

He said that the forum had organised four investment conferences with the collaboration of the Consulate General of Poland in Karachi and private sector trade associations and corporate organisations of the United Kingdom, the UAE and Switzerland.

A nine-member mission led by Sardar Popalzai represented Balochistan in these conferences and established that in the present era of private investment unhindered by national boundaries multinational companies were looking for investments in low cost areas, which are rich in natural resources. Balochistan offered most attractive environment for suchnvestment.

Mr Popalzai said that the response to the Balochistan investment conferences showed that the province had succeeded in attracting attention of the international investors.

He further said that Gwadar was located on the south western coast of Pakistan, close to the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, through which more than 13 million bpd of oil passes. It is strategically located between three increasingly important regions of the world, the oil-rich Middle East, heavily populated South Asia and the resource-rich Central Asia.

He said that the Gwadar Port would pave the way to generate billions of dollars in foreign investments in the state-of-art port city of South Asia besides, the Balochistan province’s large coastal line is expected to be developed as energy corridor of the region.

Mr Popalzai said that the Consul General of the Republic of Poland at Karachi took great interest to invite Polish investors to come to Pakistan for investment in different sectors.

In his message to the Polish business community the consul general observed that Poland saw Pakistan as a very important partner in south-eastern Asia having access to the markets of Afghanistan and the republics of Central Asia.

There are enormous possibilities for foreign investors to take part in the mega projects in different areas of Balochistan, he added.

“There are also enormous possibilities to establish joint ventures and develop economic cooperation in fish and seafood processing industry, oil and gas exploration and exploitation of minerals,” he told the Polish business leaders.

He was of the view that Pakistani businessmen, particularly from the province of Balochistan can re-export Polish products to Afghanistan, the Central Asian states of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and also the eastern region of Iran. During conference in Warsaw with top business executives investment related topics and project portfolios were discussed by the mission members. The Polish trade bodies announced to visit Balochistan in April He further said that the visit of Balochistan investment mission to four countries received encouraging message that Pakistan in the last five years has shown extra-ordinary economic progress. It offers enormous business opportunities.

The forum president said that the international business community feels that the economic potential of Balochistan is enormous and being the biggest province it is emerging as a major commercial resource centre in the region

He said that he had also met Muzaffar Chaudhary, the president of UK-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and briefed him on vast business opportunities existed in the province.