- ‘The Czech delegation, which will be led by its Ministry of Commerce, will explore possibilities of JVs and business collaborations in Pakistan’
ISLAMABAD: The Czech Republic considers Pakistan a potential market for business and investment and a delegation of Czech businessmen, led by its Ministry of Commerce, would visit Pakistan in June this year to explore possibilities of joint ventures (JVs) and business collaborations.
This was said by Embassy of Czech Republic’s Commercial Counselor Michal Bobek during his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Wednesday.
Michal Bobek said the Czech Republic had established the textile industry during the age of industrialization and was now focusing on research and development.
“Czech Republic has the knowledge while Pakistan has the capacity in the textile sector. Our mutual cooperation in this field can prove to be beneficial for both countries,” he added.
The envoy said Czech Republic was an industrial country and Pakistan could import many quality products from it, including industrial machinery, energy, electrical and telecom equipment, automobiles etc.
He asked ICCI to provide a list of businessmen who were interested in holding business-to-business meetings with the Czech delegation during its visit to Pakistan.
He assured that the Czech Embassy would facilitate the genuine businessmen in visiting his country for business purposes.
Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Ahmed Hassan Moughal said Pakistan and the Czech Republic enjoyed healthy bilateral relations since the early 1950s, adding that they should be translated into growing trade and economic relations.
He said bilateral trade between Pakistan and Czech Republic was less than $200 million, which was not reflective of the true potential of both countries.
“The main reason of low bilateral trade is the lack of information about each other’s economy, trade and investment potential, as well as low level of interaction between the private sectors of both countries,” he pointed out.
Moughal stressed that Pakistan and Czech Republic should encourage frequent exchange of trade delegations and organise single country exhibitions on a reciprocal basis to explore all untapped areas of mutual cooperation.
He said many Czech companies, including Bata shoes, Tatra trucks and Skoda cars, achieved great success in Pakistan.
He urged that more Czech companies should come to Pakistan to explore investment opportunities in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor as well as in other sectors of Pakistan’s economy.
