PESHAWAR: Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry has invited Portuguese investors to make investment in hydel power generation, oil and gas, mines and mineral, gemstones and agriculture sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Mr Pervaiz met Ambassador of Portugal to Pakistan Paulo Neves Pocinho and both agreed to make joint efforts to boost bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Portugal.

Highlighting the significance of trade potential in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the SCCI chief invited the Portuguese investors to make investment in hydel power generation, oil and gas, LPG, mines and mineral, gemstones, agriculture, medicine, fruits, livestock, honey and other potential sectors.

SCCI senior vice president Shahid Hussain, vice president Abdul Jalil Jan, former president Faiz Mohammad Faizi, members of chamber executive committee Sadiq Amin, Sherbaz Bilour, Ihsanullah, Mohammad Naeem Butt, Mujeebur Rehman, Ghulam Bilal Javed, Sanaullah Khan, Shams Rahim, Mohammad Altaf Baig, Mihajuddin, Abdul Hakeem Shinwari, Mohammd Tariq, Nisarullah Khan, Shahid Islam and Hazrat Noor were also present on the occasion.

The SCCI chief said that volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Portugal stood at $178million that needed to be boosted by launching a joint venture and exchange of business delegations.

He urged the envoy to issue business visas on recommendation of SCCI to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa traders besides exchanging business delegations to take benefits from each other’s experiences.

Maqsood Anwar said that Pakistan exports items to Portugal included textile, hides, rice, animal organs, sport goods, soapstone, plastic products and leather. He said that Portugal imports products to Pakistan included coal tar, synthetic filament tow, cyclic hydrocarbons, synthetic coloring matter, newsprint, uncoated paper and concentrated milk.

Speaking on the occasion, Paulo Neves Pocinho agreed with recommendations of SCCI president and said that the proposal regarding issuance of visas would be given priority to strengthen economic and trade ties between Pakistan and Portugal.

The envoy said that his country was lucrative destination for foreign investors. He asked the business community to make investment in information technology, software engineering, tourism and other potential sectors in Portugal.

On the occasion, SCCI former president Faiz Mohammad Faizi and other members presented several recommendations to enlarge mutual trade and economic ties between Pakistan and Portugal.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2019