ISLAMABAD: Italian Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo said on Wednesday that Pakistan was now gaining importance and credibility for business and investment, adding that an Italian business delegation would visit Pakistan in the near future to hold business-to-business meetings.
He was addressing business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Italian envoy said Pakistan has the brightest entrepreneurs and they should focus on branding of their products to enhance exports.
“Many foreign companies are importing Pakistani products and after rebranding them, are selling at exorbitant prices,” he noted. “By branding of products, Pakistan could witness a significant increase in its exports.”
He said that Pakistani companies should upgrade their capacity to compete more effectively in world markets.
The envoy expressed optimism on Pakistan’s economy, saying the country has great prospects to emerge as a strong economy in the region.
He said Italy had strong defence cooperation with Pakistan while bilateral trade between the two countries was improving.
Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Muhammad Ahmed Waheed said that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Italy was around $1.2 billion last year, which was not reflective of the actual potential of both countries.
He said that many Pakistani products including textiles and fabrics, leather products, sports goods, surgical instruments, footwear etc. could find good market in Italy.
The ICCI president said that Italy has a huge number of SMEs and it could cooperate with Pakistan in setting up its SMEs on the same model.
He identified IT, agriculture, marble and granite, automobiles etc. as potential areas of cooperation between the two countries.
He said that Italian investors should come to Pakistan with technology transfer to setup joint ventures in areas of interest.
“Both countries should encourage frequent exchange of trade delegations to explore new avenues of mutual cooperation,” he stated.
