LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) hosted a grand “Ambassadors’ Dinner” to deepen Pakistan’s diplomatic ties and accelerating economic cooperation with the wider world.

Ambassadors, high commissioners and senior representatives from 43 countries across Asia, Europe, America, Africa, Middle East and other parts of the world attended the dinner.

Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of Turkmenistan Atadjan Movlamov was the chief guest, while LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad, Senior Vice President and Standing Committee on Diplomatic, Foreign Missions & Embassies Liaison Convener Engineer Khalid Usman and Vice President Shahid Nazir Chaudhry spoke on the occasion.

LCCI executive committee members and leading industrialists were also present.

Diplomats from 43 nations attend the function

Envoys from Bahrain, Yemen, Morocco, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iran, Turkiye, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina underscored the global importance of the occasion and the international community’s keen interest in forging closer ties with Pakistan.

The event was designed as a strategic dialogue between the diplomatic community and Pakistan’s private sector on trade, investment, regional connectivity and shared economic priorities.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Abuzar shed light on the broad vision for Pakistan’s role in regional commerce and global value chains.

He also expressed views on the LCCI’s diplomatic engagement as an essential part of Pakistan’s growth strategy and urged the international community to view Pakistan as a partner in trade, industry and investment.

He said that Pakistan was positioned as a natural logistics and trade hub geographically to link South Asia with Central Asia and the Middle East, and urged partners to capitalise on emerging corridors and transit routes.

He called attention to immediately investable sectors, including textiles and garments, value-add and export-focused, agri-business and food processing, renewable energy projects, information technology and digital services, pharmaceuticals and infrastructure. He asked foreign partners to focus on joint ventures, technology transfers and capacity building.

Dean of Ambassadors Atadjan Movlamov praised the LCCI’s initiative and underscored the role of business-diplomacy in fostering mutual understanding and collaboration. He said that forums of this kind created trust, a precursor to long-term trade and investment commitments and commended the chamber for opening channels for sustained engagement.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2025