ISLAMABAD – Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FPCCI) on Saturday said the business community of Pakistan was eager toimprove trade and economic relations with Russia.
The imbalance of tilting 100 percent west for seven decades should becorrected by becoming closer to the regional friends like Turkey andRussia, a press release said.
Pakistan and Russia are in various business deals worth over $10 billionwhich will take bilateral relations to new heights, FPCCI SVP Mazhar AliNasir said while talking to Russian trade officials at the sidelines of the22nd St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
FPCCI Vice President Atif Ikram Sheikh, Chairman Coordination Malik Sohail,and Director General South Asian Strategic Stability Institute Dr MariaSultan are also part of the delegation attending SPIEF.
Amid changing circumstances, Pakistan and Russia have been trying to open anew chapter in their bilateral relations and the visit of FPCCI’sdelegation is part of the efforts to increase bilateral trade, Nasir toldthe leaders of different Russian Chambers of Commerce.
He said fifteen thousand delegates from seventy-two countries are attendingthe forum while business deals worth 100 billion dollars have beenfinalised which indicate its importance.
Mazhar Ali Nasir said Pakistan and Russia have taken a pro-active approachto take the relationship forward and look for realizing the potential ineconomic cooperation.
Malik Sohail said SPIEF is an important event, therefore, France’sPresident Emmanuel Macron, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Japan’s PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe, China’s Vice President Wang Qishan, and InternationalMonetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde are among the notedparticipants.
India has a good presence at the forum while African countries have alsoestablished their pavilions but Pakistan’s Government has ignored the forumwhich is amazing, he added.
He praised the services of Honorary Consul General Dr Abdul Rauf Rind andassured that FPCCI will not only fully participate in all such forums inthe future but also arrange Pakistan’s pavilion. – APP