SIALKOT, Dec 19: The business environment in Pakistan is conducive to foreign investment and there are bright prospects for expansion of trade relations between Norway and Pakistan, said the Norwegian ambassador to Pakistan, Janis Bjorn Kanavin, who inaugurated the Rs15 million Chrome Recovery Plant near Sambrial on Friday.

The provincial minister for industry and investment, Muhammad Ajmal Cheema, and Pakistan Gloves Manufacturers and Exporters Association chairman Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoob also attended the inauguration.

The Norwegian ambassador said that the economy of Pakistan was in a takeoff position as it had shown impressive growth in the macroeconomic sector.

He said that Sialkot exporters had the potential to capture the international trade and export markets of Norway and the European Union through diversification of traditional and non-traditional export items.

He said there were opportunities of joint ventures between Norwegian and Pakistani trade companies in different fields, and various Norwegian companies had shown keen interest in establishing joint ventures with the Sialkot business community.

The ambassador asked the SCCI to send delegations to all international trade fairs and exhibitions in Norway.

He observed that the plant would reduce the pollution load of the tanneries functioning in and around Sialkot.

Addressing representatives of the leather industry at the Cleaner Production Centre, the Norwegian ambassador said that his government would continue its technical cooperation for enabling the leather industry of Sialkot to overcome the pollution problem caused by tanneries.

He said the establishment of Cleaner Production Centre and Chrome Recovery Plant in this export-oriented area would help the industry fulfil global demands and improve the standard of its products.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister Cheema said that arrangements were being finalised for setting up a 300-acre tanneries zone in Sialkot at a cost of Rs780 million.

In his welcome address, Sheikh Yaqoob said that PGMEA had joined hands with the Export Promotion Bureau for the establishment of Leather Products Development Institute to equip the personnel in and out of the industry with modern skills at manufacturing leather garments and gloves.