Chairman UK-Pakistan Business Council (UPBC) Mian Kashif Ashfaq Thursday urged the Pakistani exporters to fully explore the untapped markets of United Kingdom by exporting international standard branded products.
Talking to a Pakistani origin British investors and traders delegation led by Muhammad Arbab Khan who is also President British Friendship Council North,Mian Kashif said Pakistan is the second largest economy in South Asia after India and the UK is currently Pakistan’s third largest source of foreign direct investment after US and China. He said the UK is also the third top export destination showing an increase of 19.79 percent to £ 1.14 b in 6MFY22 against £956.524m in the corresponding period of last year which showed upward surge.
He said that about 5,000 UK companies were doing business in the UAE, but only 150 companies were in Pakistan even though Pakistan was a huge market of over 220 million people.
Mian Kashif Ashfaq sharing his views with visiting delegation said that there was great potential for promoting bilateral trade between Pakistan and the UK for which better connectivity between private sectors of the two sides was needed. He said that Pakistan under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan was expanding its industrial base through the development of the Special Economic Zones and added that the UK companies should explore joint venture and investment avenues in such facilities. He was of the view that the close cooperation between the UK and Pakistani companies would help in producing value-added products. Those Pakistani companies which were supplying A-grade products should be connected with British firms to enhance their exports, he said.
Mian Kashif Ashfaq who is also a former Chairman Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company cited agriculture, industry, IT, mining and tourism as potential areas of cooperation between Pakistan and the UK.
