ISLAMABAD: The Managing Committee of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) has welcomed the travel advisory to Pakistan issued by the UK government, which allows tourists, business travellers and British nationals based in Pakistan to travel to various parts of the country.
Commenting on the updated UK travel advisory, OICCI Secretary-General Abdul Aleem said, “The upgrade in the UK travel advisory is an appreciation by the UK government of the various initiatives of the government and the security agencies in proactively tackling the security, law and order challenges which had serious repercussions on the image of the country as a safe destination for FDI and it is a clear message to existing and potential foreign investors that there is now no need to factor in security concerns in deciding on foreign direct investment in Pakistan.”
He said that the new advisory would enable a large number of British nationals to devour the natural beauty of the land as well as the warmth & hospitality of the people across the country.
He further added that the UK update is consistent with the OICCI 2019 annual security survey, which has been extensively shared with diplomats from UK and other countries, besides senior security and other persons visiting Pakistan from the Head office and Regional offices of leading multinationals operating in Pakistan, who are members of the OICCI.
The OICCI Security Survey conducted in June 2019, and shared with all stakeholders shows that the foreign investors, perception of the country’s security environment has further improved significantly compared to the already improved security situation recorded in the 2018 survey. The annual security survey, conducted among OICCI members only, is one of the critical annual assessment of the operating conditions in Pakistan and is taken very seriously by the potential foreign investors, relevant diplomats and other stakeholders interested in doing business in Pakistan.
The visibly improved security situation has boosted confidence of foreign investors and is reflected in over 65pc increase in the visit to Pakistan by OICCI members’ senior HQ/Regional management. The increase in visits is a vote of confidence in the improved security environment.
Abdul Aleem concluded, “The UK Travel Advisory read together with the OICCI Security survey is a strong indicator that Pakistan as a destination for investors has improved significantly with less concern on overall security situation. This improved security environment has allowed many foreign business visitors and trade delegations being granted travel permissions for their visits to Pakistan from their respective embassies and travel security agencies.”
OICCI is the largest chamber of commerce in terms of economic contributions in Pakistan. The 190 OICCI members contribute about a third of the country’s total tax collections, invested $ 2.7 billion last year in new investments and employ about one million people, besides contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of the community through their substantive CSR initiatives.
