KARACHI: Murtaza Hashwani, Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Belgium and Deputy Chairman & CEO of Hashoo Group, welcomed a 24-member trade delegation from Belgium at Karachi Marriott Hotel on Tuesday at a festive dinner held on the dual occasion to celebrate Belgium’s King’s Day and announce their five-day visit to Pakistan.
Ambassador to Belgium in Pakistan, His Excellency Frédéric Verheyden also welcomed the delegation and prominent members of the Pakistan business community who attended the event. The evening provided an opportunity to further strengthen the trade relationship between Pakistan and Belgium, now the fifth largest trading partner of Pakistan among the European Union countries.
In his opening address to the guests, Mr. Hashwani welcomed more than 300 guests and remarked, “This is a great time to be in Pakistan. The country is undergoing a process of economic liberalization, and we are optimistic about the potential for foreign investment. We have a sizeable young and vibrant workforce, and a growing class of entrepreneurs that present opportunities for trade and investment. Belgium is one of Pakistan’s top trade partners, and trade visits like this play an important role in strengthening this partnership.”
Ambassador to Belgium in Pakistan, His Excellency Frédéric Verheyden who is traveling with the delegation said “This dinner marks the end of our visit to Karachi. We had meetings with the Chief Minister and other officials who are seeking solutions to the many challenges that the city and the province are facing at the moment. We are presenting to Karachi this week an array of Belgian companies who can provide solutions to those challenges. The other good news is that Pakistan has officially become an investor in Belgium through an agreement between two companies that is being implemented as we speak. Out of the hundreds of B2B meetings that took place these past two days I am confident that similar ventures will follow.”
Published in Daily Times, November 15th 2018.