QUETTA Oct 19: Poland has offered to set up industry in the port city of Gwadar besides developing infrastructure there. It has also extended cooperation in oil and gas, energy, maritime, engineering and food processing sectors in Pakistan.

The offer was made by Ireneusz Makles, Poland’s Consul-General in Karachi while addressing a conference on Poland-Pakistan economic relations with reference to Balochistan organised by the Balochistan Economic Forum here on Thursday.

The conference was attended by business leaders, industrialists and senior officials of the Balochistan government.

Poland is interested in helping Pakistan in different sectors. It can supply electrical and railway equipment, agricultural machinery and spare parts, heavy vehicles and marine and diesel engines, he added.The diplomat said that his country was also interested in cooperating with Pakistan in coal and mining industry. “It has great experience in this field”. He said that a delegation of Poland’s biggest mining corporation visited Quetta in April to acquaint itself about Balochistan’s requirements and plans for investment as well as scope of joint ventures.

Praising the rapid development taking place in Gwadar and the setting up of an economic free zone there, he said Gwadar would serve as an energy corridor for Central Asia, Middle East, South Asia and western Asia. The free zone would attract investment in many sectors, including power generation, manufacturing, hotel industry and tourism and water desalination.

Mr. Makles said that the Polish companies were awaiting the announcement of investment packages and incentives by the government. He would encourage Polish companies to take part in the development projects of Balochistan, including the Kachhi Canal, Gwadar Port, the coastal highway, and the railway line from Gwadar to Central Asian states.

The Polish diplomat said that there was also a possibility for Pakistani businessmen to export Polish products to Afghanistan, Central Asian states and also to Eastern regions of Iran.

He said that Poland was also interested in cooperating in mining, engineering, fisheries, food processing, gas, pharmaceuticals and textiles industry.

Inviting Pakistani investors, he said Poland was a paradise for foreign investors due to its political stability and its location in the centre of Europe. It can serve as a launching pad for businessmen to market their goods to the whole of Europe.

He said that a Polish trade delegation would soon visit Pakistan to discuss ways to boost two-way trade and investment opportunities.

He further said that his country would supply 300 bulldozers to Pakistan, of which 200 would be provided to Balochistan.

Earlier Sardar Shaukat Aziz of Balochistan Economic Forum said that Poland had agreed to set up a warehouse in Warsaw for precious stones exported from Balochistan.