Staff Reporter
Islamabad
High Commissioner Mohammad Nafees Zakaria participated in a Virtual Conference on ‘Exploring Business Opportunities with the United Kingdom’ on 04 July 2020 and apprised the stakeholders of trade and investment opportunities between Pakistan and the UK. The Virtual Conference was organized by the Pakistan-Britain Business Council (PBBC) in collaboration with Pakistani businesses.
The purpose was to bring together key stakeholders on one platform so that business opportunities and challenges emanating in the wake of Covoid-19 could be discussed, and steps needed for enhancing Pakistan’s export to the UK could be explored. Besides the High Commissioner, the Conference Panelists included Mr. Julian Hamilton Barns, Chairman, PBBC and Honorary Consul of Pakistan in the UK, Mr. Shafiq A. Shahzad, Trade and Investment Minister, Pakistan High Commission London, Mr. Rashid Iqbal, CEO PBBC and Mr Talib Karim from IoBM.
Mr. Imran Khalil, former Chairman PUKBC, and Ms. Fariha Shah, Former Marketing Manager at PepsiCo moderated the Conference. Leading Pakistani businesses participated in the Conference Pakistan including Selimpex (Exporters to H&M and other UK retailers), Pakistan’s leading textile designers Sana Safinaz, Policy Makers and Tech Venture Capitalists.
Pakistan High Commissioner, highlighted the current economic situation of the UK especially in the context of Covoid-19, and apprised the participants about emerging trade opportunities with the UK. He outlined key sectors with export potential in this market and underlined the need for focussing on these sectors.
Mr Zakaria stated that certification and standards compliance was the key in making long term business contracts, pointing out that Pakistani exporters need to concentrate on building trust.
