The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and the Pakistan Western Canada Trade Association (PWCTA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work jointly for promoting bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Canada. The spokesperson of ICCI told WealthPK that the MoU was signed by ICCI President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari and PWCTA President Bushra Rehman at a ceremony organised at the chamber.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar said that the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Canada in 2020 was just around $1.11 billion, which was not reflective of the actual potential of both countries. He stressed the need for working together to develop strong business linkages between the private sectors of both countries to improve bilateral trade volume.

Ahsan Zafar said that Canada is a developed country and Pakistan could get many benefits by enhancing economic cooperation with it. Pakistan offers great opportunities to Canadian companies in education, information technology and telecom, cleantech, energy, oil and gas, agri-food, wood sectors and many other fields. He hoped that the MoU between ICCI and PWCTA would contribute to strengthening trade ties between the two countries.

Addressing the ceremony, Bushra Rehman said that her association is advocating the collective voice of the private sector and offers helpful advice and assistance to the government in its efforts to promote exports, encourage foreign investment and stimulate economic activities in the country. She said that PWCTA is playing an active role in promoting economic activities and in identifying problems of trade, industry, services, investments and environment that are being taken with the government to safeguard the interests of the private sector.

Bushra Rehman said that PWCTA would work with ICCI for the reduction of transaction costs and simplification of procedures by taking up such issues with their respective governments to facilitate trade promotion. She said that the Pakistani business community including women entrepreneurs should participate in trade fairs and exhibitions in Canada to introduce the export potential of their products including textile products, surgical instruments and footballs.She said that the student visa acceptance rate in Canada is 82%. She added that Pakistani students should take advantage of the facility to get quality education in Canadian universities.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk