Lahore:
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) hosted three major international delegations in a single day to strengthen business diplomacy and ensure trade facilities.
Talking to a delegation of Malaysian Chamber of Commerce led by Tahira Javed Dogar, Pakistan’s commercial adviser in Malaysia, LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shade remarked that he was a strong supporter of the delegation to promote bilateral trade.
He highlighted the importance of Malaysia as Pakistan’s trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN), adding that the Pakistan Malaysia’s Free Trade Agreement, which was signed in 2007, offered an important opportunity to access ASEAN markets for Pakistani exporters.
He expressed concern that despite the free trade agreement, bilateral trade was likely as it was only $ 1.5 billion in 2023-24. Exports from Pakistan were 2 582 million while imports were 8 948 million, which left Malaysia’s trade balance remaining.
He expressed the hope that the visit of the Malaysian delegation would open new avenues for healthcare, pharmaceutical, mining, engineering solutions and renewable energy and assured full cooperation in following meetings with Pakistani businesses.
Earlier, Dr. Nasir Owen, President of the Greater Chamber of Commerce in Birmingham, visited the LCCI, guiding a high -power delegation.
LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad praised the delegation’s representation of diverse and important economic sectors and said that the UK is one of Pakistan’s five trade partners.
Later, a delegation of the Pakistan Business Council (PBC), headed by its chairman Mohammad Shabbir Merchant, held a fruitful meeting with the LCCI president and signed a memorandum of understanding.
