Faisal Khawer Butt
Sialkot
The Ambassador of Bulgaria to Islamabad Mr Aleksander Borisov Parashkevov on Saturday has said that Bulgaria and Pakistan had been enjoying friendly ties since 1965 and despite their warm ties the volume of their bilateral trade was far below their actual potential.
While addressing the local industrialists and exporters at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Aleksander Borisov Parashkevov further said that frequent exchange not only of the delegations of business communities but the trade and commerce related information between both the countries was vital for the promotion of bilateral trade.
He said that close cooperation between the chambers of commerce and industry from Bulgaria and their counter parts in Pakistan must be encouraged in order to enhance bilateral trade. Mr Aleksander Borisov Parashkevov said that Pakistan was an important business partner of Bulgaria in south Asia and and Bulgaria always had valued its ties with it. Aleksander Borisov Parashkevov termed Bulgaria as ‘gateway to Europe’ and further invited the local businessmen and traders to come forward and explore the vast markets of Europe for their top quality products. The member Pak-European Business Forum Wasim Khokhar in his speech termed Bulgaria as a ‘heaven for the investors’ and offered the local businessmen to come and invest in a number of spheres in Bulgaria and enjoy highly business friendly environment with ease of doing business and many other facilities.
He added that Bulgaria could be proved a great investment destination for them. He said that there was ‘zero tax’ in Bulgaria for those investing in the localities of Bulgaria with high rate of unemployment. He said that Bulgaria was planning to hugely invest in Pakistan in a number of spheres and also launch joint ventures in the near future. He hoped that Bulgaria would soon achieve membership of ‘schengen states’ which would further help it in becoming an important business place.
The president SCCI Malik Muhammad Ashraf thanked Bulgaria for its strong support in 2013 when GSP Plus status was accorded to Pakistan. The SCCI senior vice president Khurram Azeem Khan, vice president Jalil Aslam and others were also present on the occasion.
