Trade Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena will be visiting Pakistan on January 23 accompanied by representatives from 40 to 50 companies to explore avenues of cooperation and collaboration with the business community of Pakistan, revealed Consul General of Sri Lanka Jagath Abeywarna.
Addressing a meeting at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Thursday, the envoy stressed that the delegation would explore the possibility of enhancing trade and investment ties with Pakistani counterparts besides exploring avenues in the tourism sector, the Express Tribute reported.
“Most Sri Lankan tourists, who regularly visit India and Nepal, are not much aware of the historical sites in Pakistan,” he said.
He sought the chamber’s cooperation in arranging business-to-business meetings during the visit of the delegation.
He termed exchange of trade delegations the “only way” to improve trade and investment ties between the two sides and advised KCCI to arrange a similar delegation to Sri Lanka.
He was of the view that there was an immense potential to uplift two-way trade and investment.
“Pakistan has very strong pharmaceutical and textiles industries,” he said. “Products from these segments can be exported to Sri Lanka as we import almost all types of pharmaceutical products and fabrics.”
He voiced hope that a huge number of Sri Lankan companies would participate in ‘My Karachi Exhibition’ which was scheduled to be held at Karachi Expo Centre from February 11 to 13, 2022.
On the occasion, KCCI President Muhammad Idrees assured the envoy that his Chamber would welcome and facilitate the delegation during its forthcoming visit to Karachi by organizing business-to-business meetings.Quoting statistics, he pointed out that the country’s exports to Sri Lanka stood at $324.7 million during the year 2020 while imports from Sri Lanka were recorded at $78.9 million.
“The actual trade potential is much higher than what the current statistics reveal and we are determined to tap it with join efforts and close coordination with the Sri Lankan side,” he emphasized.
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