By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Nepalese Ambassador Tapas Adhikari has said that Pakistan and Nepal have great potential to enhance trade and economic cooperation and stressed that PIA should explore the possibility of starting direct flights with Nepal that would help in promoting two-way trade between the two countries.
He said that trade promotion would help both countries to reduce unemployment and improve the living standards of their people. He added that Pakistan and Nepal have great scope to enhance cooperation in the tourism sector as both countries possessed highest peaks in the world. Addressing the businessmen during his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Wednesday, the ambassador said that the Pakistani business community should visit Nepal while he would also try to bring a delegation of Nepalese businessmen to Pakistan for promoting business linkages between both countries.
He said that Nepalese people have a great love for Pakistan and they wanted to further promote trade relations with Pakistan. The delegation of the Chaman Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI), led by its President Jalal Khan, was also present at the occasion.
Speaking at the occasion, ICCI President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that Pakistan and Nepal should focus on developing strong business linkages between their private sectors in order to explore all untapped areas of bilateral trade and economic relations as the current volume of trade was far less than the actual potential of both countries.
He said that Pakistan could provide many products to Nepal including machinery & parts, pharmaceuticals, electronic appliances, textiles products, leather goods, furniture products, fruits & vegetables, meat products and many others, therefore, both countries should find ways for direct trade to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
The ICCI president maintained that Pakistan and Nepal have the potential to cooperate with each other in agriculture & livestock, industry, energy, tourism, IT, banking & finance, health & education, civil aviation and many other fields for which direct connectivity between private sectors was important. He said that Pakistan and Nepal should encourage frequent exchange of trade delegations to promote mutual collaboration and strengthen trade relations.
