Bulgarian Ambassador Ms. Irena Genadieva Gancheva stressed on Thursday that Pakistan and her country must expedite their efforts to exploit the untapped business potential between the two countries.
She was addressing the business community at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) here. She said that the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) of Pakistan and Bulgaria was scheduled to be held last year, which was deferred due to outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. She was optimistic that it would now be held soon to deal with the problems hampering economic cooperation between the two countries. She said that the SME sector was the common economic strength of two countries and they must promote relations in these sectors.
She also endorsed a proposal for exchange of students, faculty members and businessmen to cultivate close liaison and assured that full support would be provided in this regard. She also expressed concern over the recent devastating floods in Pakistan and said that Islamabad should avail the facility of GSP Plus to overcome these losses. She said that Pakistan should comply with human rights, labour and environment related laws and clarified the restriction was not Pakistan specific and it was for all countries availing the facility of GSP Plus.
Responding to a question, the ambassador said that Bulgaria was offering the best healthcare facilities while it has top-class medical teaching institutions. She said that many Pakistani students were studying in Bulgaria.
Ms. Irena Genadieva Gancheva identified the highly developed IT sector of Bulgaria and said that it offered unlimited opportunities in the fast growing sector. “Sofia Technical Park is the main attraction for the world class IT companies from other countries,” she said and added that her country was providing the highest speed of Internet in addition to supplying spare-parts for automobiles throughout the EU. Ms. Irena said that 90 per cent of the EU traffic passes through Bulgaria, hence it has a comprehensive road and railway network linking almost all European countries.—APP
