Ambassador of Algeria Brahim Romani, while underscoring the need for having more trade and investment cooperation between the business communities of Algeria and Pakistan, said that Algeria, being one of the largest countries of the world, offers a lot of trade and investment opportunities, hence, Pakistani investors must explore avenues of cooperation and set up industrial units in Algeria in a pro-business environment wherein they will be able to produce goods for themselves and also for exports to Africa and Gulf region.
“We need to work together and it was the best time to develop cooperation with Algeria. The Algerian Embassy would fully facilitate members of business and industrial community in Pakistan who are looking forward to improve trade and investment ties with their Algerian brothers”, he added while speaking at a meeting during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI).
Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala (Via Zoom), Senior Vice President KCCI Touseef Ahmed, Vice President KCCI Muhammad Haris Agar, Chairman Diplomatic Mission & Embassies Liaison Ziaul Arfeen and KCCI Managing Committee members also attended the meeting.
Algerian Ambassador, who was on his maiden visit to Karachi, said that Algeria and Pakistan have a long history of solidarity, understanding and cooperation but the bilateral trade cooperation was unsatisfactory as the trade volume has been remained low which was not reflecting the brotherly and historical relations and it was alarming that Algeria-Pakistan trade volume has started descending which requires collective efforts from both sides.
“We cannot afford to see such a meager trade volume hence, we have to cooperate and partner with each other”, he said, adding that bilateral trade and investment cooperation has to be improved by promoting greater interaction between the business communities.
He informed that in order to create a bridge and promote cooperation between business communities of the two brotherly countries, an agreement was being signed for setting up a Business Council which would efficiently connect the business communities, promote exchange of trade delegations and prove beneficial for the economies.
He said that business visas were quickly being issued to potential businessmen and industrialists which do not require any consultation from Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as per new policy. “Issuing visa to businessmen is purely my prerogative and I have issued 120 business visas within a year to the members of business community looking forward to explore trade and investment cooperation with Algeria.”
Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, who joined the meeting online via zoom, assured full support and cooperation to Algerian Ambassador for all his efforts being made to improve business ties between the two countries.
Earlier, Senior Vice President Touseef Ahmed pointed out that Pakistan’s exports to Algeria stood at $15.04 million in FY22 compared to $11.41 million in FY21, representing a growth of 31.81 percent on-year-on-year basis while the imports dropped by 81.85 percent which stood at $2.55 million in FY22 as compared to $14.05 million in FY21.
In order to enhance & deepen regional connectivity, he said that Pakistan’s Look Africa policy can help & accelerate trade, and strengthen economic ties between the two countries, which will pave way for Pakistan & Algeria businessmen & entrepreneurs to explore new dimensions for boosting bilateral trade for easy & smooth access to the markets.
He stressed that the government authorities of both sides should coordinate and work towards establishing a Preferential Trade Agreement between Pakistan and Algeria, which would be beneficial for accelerating trade & economic development between the two countries. The Joint Business Council between Pakistan & Algeria could also be established to improve bilateral business relations between the two countries.
He was of the view that Pakistan & Algeria must establish institutional linkages between both sides for collaborative research, constructive dialogue on trade, and economic development & boosting business-to-business relationships between the two countries.
Touseef Ahmed said that Algerian investors can capitalize on exciting investment opportunities in Pakistan’s various sectors such as agriculture, textile, renewables, food security, industrial & infrastructure development, sports, tourism and hospitality, he said, adding that participation in trade fairs and exhibitions in both countries would be a great way for the business community of both countries to explore new trade avenues and promotion strategies.
CAPTION:
Senior Vice President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry presenting crest to Ambassador of Algeria Brahim Romani during his visit to KCCI. Chairman Diplomatic Missions & Embassies Liaison Subcommittee Zia ul Arfeen, Former SVP Arshad Islam and others are also seen in the picture.