LAHORE: Ambassador of Brazil Claudio Lins said on Monday that Brazil covers more than 42 per cent of its energy needs through renewable sources and is ready to share its knowledge with Pakistan. He was talking to the business community here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The LCCI Senior Vice President Almas Hyder, Vice President Nasir Saeed, former LCCI President Iftikhar Ali Malik, executive committee members Amjad Ali Jawa, Mian Abdul Razzaq, Tariq Mahmood, Waqar Ahmed Mian and Honorary Consul of Brazil Mian Hassan Mansha also spoke on the occasion. The ambassador said that Brazil was ready to extend cooperation to Pakistan in renewable energy sector. He said that Brazil had improved per hector yield through modern technology and double cropping and now it is also one of the largest exporters of poultry meat. He said that Pakistani businessmen could benefit from the Brazilian expertise in these sectors, asserting that Brazil was ninth biggest economy of the world with $1.7 trillion GDP and best place for doing business and investment. He said that despite having various commonalities and good diplomatic relations, trade volume between Brazil and Pakistan was meager. He said that the mutual trade volume in 2015 was hardly $369 million which did not match the existing potential in the two countries. He said, “Brazil is looking for new trade partners in Asia while Pakistan products are best and can easily make their way in the Brazilian market.” He invited the Pakistani businessmen to work for joint ventures with their Brazilian counterparts and also report their reservations to the Brazilian Embassy in Pakistan regarding tariff etc. Almas said that Brazil-Pakistan relations were characterised as friendly and cooperative. He said that traditionally, the balance of trade had been in favour of Brazil. Although trade figures did not match the actual potential of trade but these were following an upward trend. From 2013 to 2015, the two-way trade had surged from $227 million to $316 million. However, in contrast to that, the Pakistan exports were falling in terms of value which contracted from $87 million to $56 million. He said, “We should work on ways to improve our trade and economic relations.” He also said that the private sector of Pakistan could definitely take advantage of exporting to Brazil various types of consumer goods like ready-made garments, fabrics, knitwear, towels, leather & leather products, pharmaceutical, surgical instruments etc. He said that Brazil offered a huge potential for the exports of high quality footballs. “Everyone knows that the game of football is very close to the hearts of Brazilian people. We can also supply agro products including rice, pulses, fruits and vegetables etc. For this, we need to work closely with your office to find the right partners.” He said that Brazil had earned good repute in the field of hydro-electric technology and in expanding the commercial use of ethanol. “We will certainly like to have the expertise of Brazilian experts who can share technical aspects and general information regarding production of ethanol (bio-fuel) by sugarcane and its usage in cars and power generation.” It would certainly help Pakistan in reducing dependence on the petroleum products, he added. Iftikhar called for B2B meetings between the businessmen of the two countries. He said that tariff issues should be resolved to give boost to the mutual trade. He said that Brazil could take benefit from the cheap but skilled human resources of Pakistan. Mansha also spoke highly about the trade and economic relations between the two countries. He said that Pakistan’s geographical location was very important and could be beneficial for the Brazilian investors.