Trade with Kyrgyzstan to help tap Eurasian market: RCCI

Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has called for promoting trade relations with Kyrgyzstan, saying that Kyrgyzstan is the shortest entry point of Pakistani products to the Eurasian economic market.

RCCI President Nadeem Rauf said this while addressing the Kyrgyz-Pakistan Trade & Investment Forum at a local hotel in the federal capital.

Rauf said that the Eurasian economic market of 182 million people comprises Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia. No doubt, there is a huge potential for bilateral trade between them in various fields, including agriculture, textile and pharmaceutical industry, he added.

He said that the bilateral trade amounted to $5.9 million in 2021 with Pakistan’s exports amounting to $5.3 million and imports $600,000. There is a need to increase bilateral trade links and networking at the chamber of commerce level and suggest bilateral sector specific exhibitions on reciprocal basis. He demanded that direct flights should be launched between the two countries.

The forum was organised by the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic with the support of the USAID Regional Office for Economic Integration, the government of Pakistan, and the chambers of commerce and industry of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The purpose of the forum was to establish and develop contacts between the business circles of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to Pakistan Ulanbek Totuiaev, Head of the USAID Regional Office for Economic Integration Bano Burki and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Saeed Hamid Ali also spoke on the occasion.

During the forum, Kyrgyz businessmen made presentations on the economic opportunities in such spheres as pharmaceuticals, textiles, logistics, IT and energy sectors, industry, agriculture, food industry, and construction.

Within the framework of the events, there were organized B2B meetings between the representatives of the business circles of the two countries.

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