Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistani, Ali Alizada has said that his country was keen to further promote bilateral trade with Pakistan as both countries have tremendous scope to enhance trade and economic cooperation in many fields. He said that Azerbaijan and Pakistan enjoyed excellent relations at political level, but trade and economic relations were not matching with them, therefore, there was a great need to focus on promoting trade relations that would yield highly beneficial results for the economies of both countries. Addressing the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Saturday, Ali Alizada said that the people of Azerbaijan have great love for Pakistan and feel comfortable in doing business with it, therefore, Pakistan should seriously consider to expand trade cooperation with it. He said that Azerbaijan has signed free trade agreements with 10 countries of the region including Russia, therefore, by investing in Azerbaijan and increasing trade cooperation with it, Pakistani investors could promote exports to all these regional countries. The envoy said that Covid-19 pandemic has caused some slowdown in trade activity between the two countries, but after the coronavirus was over, bilateral trade was expected to get a boost. He said that Azerbaijan was interested in developing railways links and direct flights with Pakistan soon after the end of Covid-19. He identified agriculture, industry, tourism, mining, hospitality and defense as potential areas of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan. Ali Alizada said that Pakistani pharma companies have huge potential in his country and they should set up manufacturing plants in Azerbaijan. He said that Azerbaijan was establishing a free economic zone next to the port of Baku and Pakistani investors should explore JVs and investment in this facility. He said that an online business forum between the two countries was planned in March and said that Pakistani business community should attend it to explore business collaboration with the counterparts of Azerbaijan. He said that ICCI should take a delegation to Azerbaijan to explore its market and he would cooperate in connecting them with right partners in his country. Speaking at the occasion, President ICCI Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that the bilateral trade of around US$ 16-17 million between Pakistan and Azerbaijan was quite nominal given the actual potential of both countries and more serious efforts were needed from both sides to improve it. He said that many good quality Pakistani products including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, surgical instruments, sports goods, cutlery, electrical appliances, textile & leather products, furniture, home-made crafts, food and fruits products, engineering & consumer goods, rice have great scope in Azerbaijan and it should increase imports of these products from Pakistan. Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that Pakistan was setting up many special economic zones under CPEC that offered 10 years’ tax holiday, therefore, investors of Azerbaijan should explore opportunities of JVs and investment in these SEZs that would help in further strengthening bilateral business cooperation between the two countries. He said that Azerbaijan was quite rich in energy and it can help Pakistan in this sector as well. He assured that ICCI would try to take a business delegation to Azerbaijan in March 2021 to explore business collaboration with counterparts in Azerbaijan and analyze the market potential for Pakistani products. He said the delegation would also interact with investors of Azerbaijan and inform them about the potential business opportunities for them in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy. Fatma Azim Senior Vice President, Abdul Rehman Khan Vice President ICCI, Aslam Khokhar and others also spoke at the occasion and stressed that steps should be taken to bridge the gap between the private sectors of both countries to increase two-way trade up to the real potential of both countries. Exports to UK: Adviser to Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment on Saturday informed the first time, Pakistan’s exports to the United Kingdom (UK) have crossed the US dollars one billion in the first six months of fiscal year 202-121, the ever met target in the said duration. From July 1 to end December 2020, the exports to UK grew by 21 percent touching figure of US $ 1,029 million as compared to figure of US $ 852 million in the respective time during last fiscal year, the advisor tweeted. Moreover, in December 2020, these exports grew by 47 percent to US $ 189 million as compared to $ 129 million in December last year. “I congratulate our exporters for this achievement and encourage them to make efforts to obtain a greater share of the market,” he said. “I also commend the efforts of MOC’s Trade Officers (TOs) posted in the UK and urge them to work harder in finding opportunities for our exporters and provide facilitation to our businessmen,” he said.