KARACHI, Oct 5: The outgoing Italian consul-general, Bruno A. Pasquino, has said that he has witnessed a fast transformation of Karachi and only three years back when he joined the consulate here there was a lot of difference in Karachi of then and now.

He made these remarks during a farewell call he made on City Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil on Thursday.

He observed that after the ongoing development works were completed, a number of city problems would be solved.

Bruno spoke about increased diplomatic and trade relations between Pakistan and Italy and he hoped that his successor would work for further strengthening of friendly relations which got a spur during his three-year stay here.

He said that trade between Pakistan and Italy, which stood at 600 million euros three years back, had reached the 900 million mark today, with Karachi having the major share.The consul-general said Pakistan is playing a very important role in the region and due to government measures, law and order situation here had improved a lot with many time increase in investment as a result.

He observed that vast opportunities existed for investment in textile and advanced technology.

Nasreen Jalil said while the city government's priorities focused health, education and sanitation, the provision of conducive climate for investment had also been one of its foremost priority.

She described promotion of investment in Karachi the result of positive policies of the Haq Parast leadership.

The naib nazim said the city's population was growing fast and people from all over Pakistan as well as from abroad were settling down here and in order to overcome the population pressure, the city government was working on concrete planning for the future. —APP