Islamabad, JAN 26 /DNA/ – Mazen Obeid, Ambassador of Syria to Pakistan said that his country wanted stronger trade and economic ties with Pakistan as both countries have good potential to enhance cooperation in many fields for their mutual benefit. He said this while addressing business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI). He said that Syria and Pakistan had signed MoUs for Joint Working Group & education and it was important to move forward on these initiative to further strengthen bilateral cooperation. He underlined the need of creating a Pak-Syria Business Council to promote business relations between the two countries. He said that PIA has started two weekly flights to Syria and hoped that it would help improve trade between the two countries. He stressed that the private sectors of both countries should participate in each other’s exhibitions to explore new avenues of business collaboration.
Dr. Mazen Obeid said that due to armed conflict for over a decade, Syria was now in the rebuilding phase and it was a good opportunity for Pakistan to play a role in its reconstruction. He said that Pakistan could provide many products to Syria including raw material of medicines, surgical instruments, food products, IT products & service and solar panels to overcome power shortage. He was thankful to Pakistan for sending medical aid last year to Syria and added that Syria would always welcome any kind of support from Pakistan to cope with its conflict-created challenges.
Speaking at the occasion. Muhammad Shakeel Munir, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the business community of Pakistan was ready to contribute for reducing economic difficulties of Syrian people. He said that many products of Pakistan including marble & granite, pharmaceuticals, leather goods, food products, steel, cement, IT, light engineering could find a good market in Syria and it should import these products from Pakistan. He also discussed various issues relating to exploring and activating venues of bilateral cooperation in commerce and economic fields. He termed the resumption of direct flights between Pakistan and Syria by PIA an important step towards activating bilateral trade and encouraging exchange of business delegations in order to explore all untapped areas of mutual cooperation. He assured that ICCI was ready to work with the Syrian Embassy to further improve trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Syria.
Mian Akram Farid, Chairman, Founder Group said that Pakistan and Syria have good potential to enhance cooperation in tourism, health, SMEs and other sectors. He stressed that both countries should focus on joint ventures, investment projects, commercial deals, and organizing exhibitions to further improve business relations.
Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh Senior Vice President and Muhammad Faheem Khan Vice President also gave many useful proposals to boost trade ties between both countries. Saeed Khan, Ali Akram Khan, Hamayun Kabir, Sheikh Ejaz, Akhtar Hussain, Muhammad Shabir, Khalid Chaudhry and others were also present at the occasion.
