Zubair Qureshi Islamabad
Mohamed Karmoune , Ambassador of Morocco has said that since Morocco is a champion in solar energy, the Moroccan experts in this field can help their Pakistani experts in harnessing this immense source of energy.
The sun shines in Pakistan the whole year, moreover, the government of Pakistan is promoting solar energy to overcome the shortage of conventional energy in the country. This is the right time to work in this direction, said the ambassador while addressing a dialogue organized by a journal “Pakistan in the World” and partners.
Ambassador Karmoune said “Our doors are open for Pakistani business community and I invite them to tap the huge potential of bilateral trade.”
Both the countries can work upon various sectors including joint ventures, he said adding Morocco is tourism destination that attracted more than 20 million tourists before COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism is a driver of economy and Pakistan has perfect landscapes for tourism. Pakistan has to upgrade the infrastructure only, he said.
In 2018, Morocco’s exports to Pakistan reached an all time high of US$ 347.43 million while imports from Pakistan were valued at US$ 35.82 million.
In 2020 Moroccan exports lowered a little at US$ 318 million while Pakistani exports increased to US$ 38.9 million.
The untapped potential reveals that bilateral trade can go as high as US$ 9 billion for the top 25 products alone. Both nations need to work on diversifying their export portfolios, he said.
The forum was also addressed by Muhammad Naeem Khan, Director General Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Recently FM of Togo visited Pakistan and more ministerial and high level visits are in the pipeline.
Pakistan and Morocco have great relations which must be further strengthened by engaging all stakeholders in a productive way.
Both countries are also supporting each other on multi-lateral diplomacy, he said.
He noted that Pakistani think tanks and business circles needed to materialize what they saw and idealized.
Examine your ideas in terms of reality, represent them and we are always ready to help mature the suggestions if they are worked upon and represented properly. He invited the think tanks to explore new avenues that will be the actual contribution in performance of our duties at the MOFA.
Shakeel Munir President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce offered a free stall to Embassy of Morocco for display of their products at the exhibition to be held on Sep 9, 2022 at Pak-China Friendship Center.
He invited the Moroccan Ambassador to place the products at the ICCI chamber premises as well.
