ISLAMABAD: Hamad Oba­id Alzaabi, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates said that Pakistan and UAE should develop a 10-year roadmap to benefit from potential areas of mutual cooperation and the UAE wanted to further enhance trade relations with Pakistan as both countries have great scope to promote trade in many areas.

Addressing the business community at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday, he said that Pakistan’s private sector should actively participate in the Annual Investment Meetings and Expo 2020 in UAE to explore possibilities for enhancing their business prospects.

The UAE would host this first international level Expo 2020 in which 100 countries would participate.

The envoy said that hundreds of Pakistani companies were doing successful business in free economic zones of the UAE. He said that exchange of business delegations is important to explore new avenues of cooperation and assured that he would work with ICCI to promote connectivity between the private sectors of both countries.

In his welcome address, Sheikh Amir Waheed, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that Pakistan and UAE enjoyed cordial relations but their bilateral trade of over $8 billion was not reflective of the actual potential of both countries.

He stressed that both countries should focus on promoting strong connectivity between their private sectors and facilitate frequent exchange of trade delegations that would help in further enhancing current volume of bilateral trade.

He said that Pakistan and the UAE should focus on developing strong linkages between their youth and women entrepreneurs by creating platforms like youth and women business councils that would help in promoting sustainable trade and economic relations between both countries.

President ICCI said that Pakistan offered tremendous investment opportunities to the UAE’s investors in various sectors of its economy including infrastructure development, power generation, water management, agro industries and they should visit Pakistan to explore JVs and investment.

He added that many areas including aluminum products, horticulture, farming, dairy farming, livestock, financial sector, pre-fabricated houses and affordable low income houses also offered good prospects for JVs and urged that the two countries should strengthen their SMEs to achieve more beneficial results.

Muhammad Naveed, Senior Vice President, and Nisar Ahmed Mirza, Vice President ICCI, emphasised for regular interaction between the chamber and the UAE embassy to explore areas for improving bilateral trade and economic relations.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2017