Daily Times

Brahim Romani, Ambassador of Algeria on Sunday said that his country wants to develop strong trade and economic ties with Pakistan as both countries have good potential to cooperate with each other in many areas.

He said that Pakistan is one of the first countries to recognize Algeria and it is time that both countries should focus on improving business relations to achieve better results for their respective economies, said a press release issued here. He said this while addressing the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

The envoy said that Algeria occupies important geographic location with abundant natural resources including mines like iron, lithium, uranium etc. and Pakistani investors should explore investment opportunities in his countries to export their products to huge African market. He said that a delegation of Algeria would also visit Pakistan to attend exhibitions in Lahore and Karachi.

He said that ICCI should also plan a delegation for Algeria to explore business opportunities. Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Algeria is quite low and both countries should make efforts to take it to at least US$ 1 billion.

He identified cotton, textiles, construction material, chemicals, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, aluminium, plastic goods, electric & electronic items, food products and others as potential areas of trade cooperation between Pakistan and Algeria.

He said that Pakistan is producing many quality products and Algeria should focus on their import from Pakistan. He assured that ICCI is ready to work with the Algerian Embassy for enhancing connectivity between the private sectors to improve trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Algeria.

Faad Waheed, Senior Vice President ICCI said that Pakistan and Algeria have good potential to enhance cooperation in the steel sector and both countries should take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen their bilateral cooperation.

Engr. Azhar ul Islam Zafar, Vice President ICCI emphasized that both countries should encourage regular exchange of trade delegations to explore all untapped areas of mutual cooperation.

Zafar Bakhtawari former President ICCI and Secretary General UBG stressed for direct flights between Pakistan and Algeria to promote people-to-people and business relations. He said that the Prime Minister of Algeria Nadir Larbaoui is his personal friend and he as Ambassador of Algeria in Pakistan had played an important role in improving bilateral relations between the two countries.

He said that a delegation of ICCI would visit Algeria to congratulate him on his election as Prime Minister.

Sheikh Muhammad Ejaz, Maqsood Tabish, Dr Usman, Khalid Mehmood, Akhtar Hussain, Imtiaz Abbasi, Ms Munezih Majid and others also shared useful ideas for strengthening trade relations between Pakistan and Algeria.