The business community of Multan on Monday evinced keen interest in becoming the part of a trade delegation flying to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) on March 05-10 for exploring business, trade and investment opportunities. They showed their interest for joining the delegation during a meeting with H.E. Jemal Beker Abdula, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the FDRE to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan here at the office of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI). MCCI President Mr. Mian Rashid Iqbal, while co-chairing a meeting of its members along with H.E. Jemal Beker, urged the interested businessmen to get registered with the Embassy of FDRE in Pakistan to ensure their participation in the historic trade delegation to Ethiopia which was crucial to bring the two countries more close to each other. He assured H. E. Jemal Beker of the MCCI’s full participation in the trade delegation which would open a new window of opportunities for the Pakistani businessmen in Africa which was market of around 1.4 billion people. Mr. Nadeem Sheikh, MCCI Senior Vice President, extended gratitude to Ambassador H.E. Jemal Beker Abdula for announcing a trade delegation to Ethiopia for promoting the bilateral trade between the two countries. He hoped that a large number of businessmen from Multan would be part of the trade delegation which would take the bilateral trade to the new heights. Mr. Sheikh Muhamad Asim, MCCI Vice President said it was high time to explore Ethiopia which had undergone a lot of transformation under the leadership of a Nobel prize winner Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed who had initiated the development process by carrying out a reform agenda in his country. He said Ethiopia was blessed to have H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed as PM who won laurels from the international community for his remarkable initiative to bring peace and stability and prosperity in his country. H.E. Jemal Beker Abdula thanked the business community of Multan for showing keen interest in the trade delegation and briefed them on the complete details of the historic trip to Ethiopia as well as economic and political landscape. He said the trip would include subsidized airfares and accommodation, free local transportation, cultural nights, visits to the industrial sites and above all, meetings with the business community and top leadership of Ethiopia. The ambassador said he was planning to take a big number of delegates and for that purpose, business community from the different sectors of economy had been reached out. “I am visiting to all the big cities of Pakistan to ensure that every chamber of commerce become part of the delegation and play its due role in strengthening trade relations between the two countries. He said Ethiopia had created ease of doing business in the country and established one-window operation to attract foreign direct investment. Besides, it has been producing cheap and clean energy and also had skilled and young labour force. At the end, he responded to the queries of the business community about the trade and investment in Ethiopia. Ambassador H.E. Jemal Beker also visited the Bahauddin Zakariya University and held an interactive session with the faculty leadership and students of the Institute of Management Sciences. During the interaction, the ambassador underlined the need for sharing knowledge globally to brand their country at the world level. He also sought educational cooperation between the two countries through scholarships and exchange programmes. Dr. Hassan Bucha, Director Institute of Management Sciences, assured H.E. Jemal Beker that the scholarships would be offered to the students of Ethiopia in his institution.