SIALKOT: France’s Ambassador to Pakistan Marc Barety has said that his country is keen to develop strong business-to-business contacts with a special focus on promoting small and medium enterprises as well as promoting the transfer of advanced technology to Pakistan.

While talking to the leading exporters of Sialkot on Tuesday, Mr Barety pledged to remove all hurdles in the way of promoting bilateral trade. He urged on the Sialkot business community to capitalise on the country’s GSP+ status to increase their presence in France and European markets. The two sides agreed to encourage frequent trade delegations between the two partners.

According to French Custom Authorities, total trade volume between the two countries in 2017 stood at 1.29 billion euros with balance of trade in favour of Pakistan at 732 million euros.

Sialkot Chambers of Commerce and Industry President, senior officials of the French Embassy and SCCI’s Women Entrepreneurs Committee Chairperson Dr. Maryam Nouman also attended the meeting.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2018