Turkish-Pakistan Business Council (TPBC) Chairman Huseyin Akin has said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will get a considerable boost as soon as a number of Turkish companies thrash out arrangements for a sector-specific investment through joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts.
He was speaking at a business forum jointly organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) on Friday.
The TPBC chairman, who was heading a 13-member business delegation, said that Punjab’s GDP and an attractive business atmosphere were a great opportunity for Turkish corporations to make lucrative investments. The high profile visits in the recent past from Pakistan bears testimony to the fact that Turkish businessmen are committed to do business in Pakistan, he added. It was also noted that Turkish-Pakistan Business Council was actively promoting the development of commercial relations between Pakistan and Turkey with the TPBC continuing to be the main driver of further enhancement in bilateral relations. He hoped that concrete business agreements would be signed during their visit to Pakistan.
On this occasion, LCCI President Shahzad Ali Malik sought Turkish cooperation to overcome energy shortage in Pakistan, adding, energy was an important issue for Pakistan’s economic growth and Turkey had vast experience of exploiting hydroelectric and other energy sources. He said that there was a huge potential to enhance bilateral trade as the existing trade volume was just the tip of the iceberg. The amount of our two way trade itself speaks to a great volume as it has been averaging around $600 million for the last four years. Moreover, he said, the share of Pakistan’s exports to Turkey is just 2.3 percent of our total exports and Pakistan’s imports from Turkey account for only 0.5 percent.
He said that Turkey and Pakistan should identify areas of economic cooperation especially in sectors like textiles, leather and footwear, fresh fruits, sports goods as well as surgical items. Turkey can do value addition by importing raw material and semi-finished goods from Pakistan for onward marketing to European countries. Malik said that Pakistan is pursuing economic development through market liberalisation and stressed that Turkish entrepreneurs should come forward and establish a special economic zone for Turkey in Pakistan and enter into joint ventures with Pakistani businessmen.
He said Turkey is well positioned to take advantage of Pakistan’s economic potential and its geostrategic postion. He underscored the need for making trade and investment the central pillar of Pak-Turkish cooperation. He was of the opinion that bilateral arrangements and early implementation of regional trade agreements is the need of the hour. Giving a detailed presentation on available business opportunities in Punjab, PBIT CEO Saadat Muzaffar also backed the tapping the immense potential of trade between the two countries.
He provided key sectoral information to the Turkish delegation in the relevant areas of livestock, construction and energy. He underlined that the Turkish delegation’s visit would help build a strong business link between prominent Turkish companies and Pakistan-based stakeholders.
