Ambassador of Ethiopia to Pakistan Jemal Beker on Wednesday urged Pakistani businessmen to focus on the Ethiopian markets for exploring new opportunities to increase the country’s exports. Ethiopia is eager to promote trade ties with Pakistan, he said, adding increasing bilateral trade could greatly benefit the people and economies of both countries.He said this in a meeting with President of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (ICCI) Muhammad Shakeel Munir at the Ethiopian Embassy. Jemal stressed that marble, pharmaceuticals, textiles and construction could be potential areas of bilateral cooperation between Ethiopia and Pakistan.He said Ethiopia imported 80% of pharmaceutical products and Pakistani pharmaceutical sector’s investors should set up joint ventures in Ethiopia to meet its market needs and export surplus to African countries. Ethiopia, Jemal said, is considering to resume direct flights to Pakistan that would improve people-to-people exchanges, besides trade relations between the two countries.

He suggested the ICCI should sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce to promote business linkages between the private sectors of both countries. He assured that his embassy would facilitate Pakistani entrepreneurs in exploring the Ethiopian markets for business and investment. The envoy pointed out that Ethiopia is importing many products from China and India and Pakistan too has a good opportunity to focus on the Ethiopian markets.

He suggested the ICCI take a business delegation to Ethiopia to promote connectivity with Ethiopian counterparts and explore business collaborations. Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Muhammad Shakeel Munir said Pakistan and Ethiopia should consider negotiating a preferential, or free trade agreement to promote trade relations up to their true potential.Pakistan, he said, has made a Look Africa Policy to explore huge untapped African region for trade and exports.

A close cooperation between the two countries would be helpful in getting better access to African markets, he added.Shakeel said that both countries should encourage regular exchange of trade delegations to explore all potential areas of mutual cooperation. Many Pakistani products including marble & granite, pharmaceuticals, cement, leather, rice and sports goods could find a good market in Ethiopia. He said the ICCI had already taken its delegations to Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates and it would now consider taking a delegation to Ethiopia.The ICCI would like to work closely with the Ethiopian Embassy to promote business relations between Pakistan and Ethiopia, he added.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk