TAXILA: Pakistan has a rich culture and has a peaceful environment, said German envoy Martin Kobler on Thursday.Mr Kobler was visiting motivational speaker Syed Omair Hussain at his house in Gari Afghanan Village in the outskirts of Taxila.

Mr Kobler drove through the narrow streets on a motorbike belonging to Umair’s brother.

Lauding Mr Hussain’s passion, energy and determination, Martin Kobler said that instead of being dependent on other people due to his physical disability, Omair has become a ray of hope for people across the world.

The envoy said Omair was a torch bearer for the Pakistani youth and presented a soft image of the country abroad. He urged the younger generation to follow his example.

Mr Kobler said he had been eager to meet Omair since he had read an article about him in the newspaper of how one of the shortest men in the country, at 33 inches, who suffers from disabilities as well, is changing the lives of people via his motivational speeches.

Talking about enhancing bilateral trade relations between Pakistan and Germany, Mr Kobler said there is a lot of room for increasing trade and urged for the removal of hurdles and simplification of the process of making investments.

“German companies consider Pakistan a preferred destination for trade and business and Pakistani markets offer immense potential of bilateral trade especially in sports, surgical, textile products. But there is a complicated procedure with regard to opening up new businesses in Pakistan,” he said.

The current volume of trade between the two countries is at $2.6 billion, he said and that Pakistani exports are worth $1.5 billion while its imports are at $1.1 billion.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2018