Pakistani pharmaceutical companies have shown a strong desire to manufacture raw materials for a variety of life-saving medications by investing in Ethiopia's healthcare sector. A group from the Pakistani pharmaceuticals industry expressed their interest when they met Ethiopian Ambassador to Pakistan Jemal Beker Abdula in his office in Islamabad. President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari served as the delegation's leader. According to the president of a pharmaceutical company, Pakistan can provide Ethiopia with the highest quality medications that are inexpensive and up to pace with international standards. He informed that his business manufactures 300 various types of life-saving medicines.

According to him, Pakistan has a $3.2 billion pharmaceutical sector with an annual growth rate of almost 18%. Despite all the challenges, Pakistan's industrial market is expanding as a result of its exports to 65 countries, including in Africa and Central Asia. A representative of another firm said that Rawalpindi and Islamabad are home to a sizable concentration of pharmaceutical factories. The company is generating more than 150 medicines that save lives and is also interested in doing business in Africa, particularly Ethiopia, he added.

Ambassador Jemal Beker said the items made by Pakistan's pharmaceutical sector have a solid reputation across the world, but, regrettably, are unable to enter the Ethiopian market owing to a lack of institutional connections. "The first thing we have done after opening our embassy in Islamabad is to establish institutional linkages between the two countries," he said and added that a lot of work has already been done in this area in coordination with the relevant Pakistani authorities.

The Ethiopian ambassador's quick action in organising a prominent Pakistani team to visit Ethiopia was praised by ICCI President Ahsan Bakhtawari as evidence of his commitment and dedication to advancing trade and economic ties between Ethiopia and Pakistan. He said that the trade mission to Ethiopia will open up fresh opportunities for fostering exports and trade with the continent of Africa. He also praised the ambassador's efforts to secure Ethiopian Airlines' launch of direct flights between Addis Abeba and Karachi in March, which will aid in fostering both people-to-people and business-to-business ties between the two countries.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk