ISLAMABAD – Consul General of Kuwait Salem Yousif Al-Hamdan visited KarachiChamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). He addressed businessmen that CPECis a vital project which would be beneficial for Pakistan and the region atlarge.
He asked the Balochistan government to arrange a CPEC conference to informthe Kuwaiti businessmen and investors about opportunities offered underCPEC. Yousif Al-Hamdan stressed that not only Kuwaiti but Gulf’s entirebusiness community would be invited to attend the conference.
He said that CPEC conference would be useful in discovering investmentopportunities given by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
In a bid to further discuss and devise strategies for streamlining theissuance of business visas, the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry is ready to holdnegotiations with Pakistan, said Consul General of Kuwait Salem YousifAl-Hamdan.
In this regard, he added, Pakistan�s Ministry of Interior had beenapproached some time ago but unfortunately Kuwait had not received anyresponse so far. Speaking at a meeting during his visit to the KarachiChamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the envoy told businessmen thataround 120 communities were living in Kuwait which was why it had astringent visa policy.
“We want to streamline the issuance of business visa, hence, negotiationsmust take place between interior ministries of the two friendly countriesas soon as possible,” he added. Talking about the China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC), the consul general pointed out that it was a veryimportant project, which would have a positive impact not only on Pakistanbut the entire region.
“To attract the interest of Kuwaiti business community and other investorsfrom the Gulf, we asked the government of Balochistan to organise a CPECconference in Karachi,” he said.
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“We will make sure that this conference is attended not only by the Kuwaitibusiness community but also by other potential investors from the Gulfregion.”
The envoy added that the conference would help in raising awareness aboutthe significance of CPEC project and provide a perfect opportunity tohighlight the immense CPEC-related investment opportunities in Pakistan.
Al-Hamdan pointed out that Kuwait had signed many MoUs with differentinstitutions from all provinces in Pakistan while work on some of theseMoUs had already begun, adding that the Kuwait Investment Authority alsointended to undertake numerous projects in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh.
The Kuwaiti envoy was of the opinion that Karachi, being the financial,trading and industrial centre of Pakistan with two ports, could offer a lotof trade and investment opportunities to the Kuwaiti business community.
Speaking on the occasion, KCCI President Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan stated thatKarachi – the economic hub of Pakistan – offered profitable investmentopportunities as well as facilities for trade, investment and jointventures to the business and industrial community of Kuwait. “During 2018,Pakistan exported goods worth $172.69 million to Kuwait as against exportsof $166.78 million in 2017.”
