Economic Business Linkages With Canada
(Lahore 08 July, 2017) – It
is a fact that Pakistan is emerging as a trading nation, primarily because of
its location at the crossroads of South Asia, China, Central Asia, West Asia
and the Indian Ocean. With its liberal pro-investment policies, Pakistan is a
combination of a rapidly growing economy with a highly skilled and moderately
priced workforce. Pakistan’s economy has shown a relatively well economic trend
for the last few years.
Numerous Canadian companies
are already exploring opportunities in Pakistan in various sectors, including
solar energy and information technology. However, our economic ties haven’t been
reached to its true potential. In a report by Statistics Canada, bilateral
merchandise trade alone topped the $1 billion mark in 2016, depicting a 49%.
A recent meeting was held
between Pakistan’s Finance Minister – Ishaq Dar, and the Canadian High Commissioner
- Perry Calderwood, where the commissioner said “a robust economic growth and a
visible improvement in the security situation in Pakistan had provided a good
opportunity for further strengthening economic and business linkages between
the two countries". The President of All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) –
Mr. Ibrahim Qureshi expressed his opinion over Pakistan and Canada’s economic
relations and said: “Pakistan and Canada have been traditionally enjoying
friendly relations over the years, with close co-operation in development,
people-to-people contacts and regional security. Pakistan’s exports value at
$350 million+, whereas Canadian exports totaled $690 million. Canada has vast
business opportunities in Pakistan, such as oil, gas and minerals exploration,
information technology, agro-business and power generation.”
The current state of
bilateral ties including economic cooperation between Pakistan and Canada were
discussed along with the steps that had been taken to reactivate the bilateral
Trade and Investment Working Group to help promote economic cooperation. The
Canadian High Commissioner also encouraged Canadian investors and firms to
explore and benefit from the business and investment opportunities available in
the country.
