ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: A leading Egyptian businessman said on Thursday that trans-national projects like oil and gas pipelines could be very interesting investment projects provided stability returned to the region.

But business opportunities could emerge only when factors of tension in Afghanistan, Pak-India tension and Middle East were removed, said Shafik Gabr, chairman and managing director of Artoc group for investment and Development at a press conference after holding a meeting with President General Pervez Musharraf.

In Pakistan, he said, economic environment had improved recently and situation was stable both in terms of security and policies.

He said that it was his first exploratory visit to Pakistan after being invited by President Gen Pervez Musharraf during his last visit to Cairo, and that his visit would be followed by a team of experts by mid of this year.

He said that Pakistan had a lot of potential but a lot of work needed to be done for its integration with the world which was very competitive at the moment. Pakistan had all the ingredients to be competitive, he said, adding that Egypt had gone through all this restructuring process.

He said his meetings with four ministers and leading businessmen besides the president were very encouraging and both sides discussed how Egypt and Pakistan could use their leverage for economic and commercial relations.

He said his team identified three areas for investment— oil and gas, infrastructure and trade both in terms of direct investments through joint ventures and strategic investments through privatization.

He said Pakistan could take advantage of Egypt because it was gateway to Arab, Middle East and African regions besides member of the 22-member African cooperation forum.

He said that Pakistan was passing through a transitional period and hence it was premature to say in which area his companies would be making investments but privatization of oil and gas, trade and infrastructure including telecom sector were his priorities.

He said that his company was one of the first investors in Pakistan’s telecom sector, and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited would be a good strategic investment opportunity.

To a question, he said that he did not consider investments in Pakistan’s portfolio sector.