ISLAMABAD
High Commissioner of Canada Perry John Calderwood Tuesday said that security situation in Pakistan was now improving, which would help Canadian investors to explore business opportunities existing here.
Addressing the business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), he said Canada was an advanced economy and Pakistan could achieve better results by developing close cooperation with it.
He said Canada was providing development assistance to Pakistan for women economic empowerment, adding that the new development policy of Canada would also benefit Pakistan.
He said Pakistan was a potential country for business and investment and asked for enhancing cooperation in agriculture, energy, mining and other sectors of the economy.
He called upon the private sectors of both countries to play their leading role in exploiting these opportunities for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
Canada and Pakistan could complement each other in many areas by sharing expertise and developing partnerships, he added.
He said Canada was quite strong in oil, gas, hydro and solar power and Pakistan could benefit from its expertise to improve its energy generation.
Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Khalid Iqbal Malik, said Pakistan and Canada enjoyed old friendly relations as they established diplomatic relations in 1947.
However, bilateral trade of just over $ 1 billion in 2015 did not reflect the real potential of both countries.
He said trade in limited items was the main reason of low trade volume.
He stressed the both countries for focusing on trade diversification to improve bilateral trade figure.
He said trade balance was in favor of Canada and it should enhance its imports from Pakistan as many Pakistan products could meet the needs of Canadian customers at affordable cost.
He emphasized that Canadian businessmen should benefit from Pakistan’s IT-enabled services in animation and gaming, retail banking and finance, mobile content, document management and call centres.
He said Pakistan needed more oil rigs and mining equipment to exploit its vast natural resources and Canada should take benefit of these opportunities.
He said Canadian investors should also explore joint ventures and investment in CPEC projects in Pakistan.
ICCI president said Pakistani exporters had to face cumbersome visa formalities for attending trade fairs in Canada while its travel advisories discouraged Canadian business people from visiting Pakistan.
