Daily Times

Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (TCCIA) President, Paul F Koyi has urged the Pakistani businessmen and industrialists to improve ties with Tanzanian counterparts by exploring more avenues of trade and investment cooperation between the two countries in different sectors of the economy.

Paul Koyi, who led a 4-member Tanzanian delegation during its visit to Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), stressed that Tanzania is a very peaceful country with immense trade and investment opportunities in many sectors, particularly the agriculture sector which can be explored by Pakistani business & industrial community that would lead to enhancement of trade and investment ties, according to a statement issued on Friday.

“We must start knowing each other, build confidence and bring the business communities of the two countries closer to each other. This is the reason why we are here in Pakistan to bridge the gap, improve ties and explore trade expansion possibilities”, he added.

President KCCI M Shariq Vohra, Vice President KCCI Shamsul Islam Khan, former vice president KCCI Nasir Mehmood, KCCI managing committee members and others attended the meeting.

The president TCCIA further stated that staying confined to trading just raw material is not making any sense; hence, the business communities of both sides will have to focus on value-addition, specifically in the agriculture sector, besides promoting opportunities in tourism, natural habitat, mines & minerals and other important sectors of the economy.

He invited Pakistani businessmen and industrialists to visit Tanzania which would not only help in improving the existing trade ties but would also provide a perfect opportunity for further exploring the Tanzanian market where profitable opportunities exist while the cost of doing business was also comparatively low.

Earlier, President KCCI Shariq Vohra, while welcoming the Tanzanian delegates, pointed out that although Pakistan and Tanzania have been enjoying great relations since long, yet the trade volume is still too low.

During 2019, Pakistan exported goods worth $87.2 million to Tanzania while the imports stood at $20.53 million only, which required collective efforts and more cooperation between the business communities of the two countries.

He noted that despite the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic all around the world, it is surprising to see that the Tanzanian economy is expected to grow at a rate of 5.5 percent and the country has easily come out of problems after the government took key steps to mitigate the economic impact of coronavirus.

He informed that Pakistan’s main exports to Tanzania are cement, textiles, rice and sugar, as well as some relatively high technology goods such as machinery and tractors. “We import tea, raw cotton and hides for leather from Tanzania, along with some imports of tobacco, edible oils and tanning materials.” More goods can be identified to enhance trade with Tanzania. Pakistan currently has a shortage of cotton in the country and Tanzania can help meet this demand, he suggested.