Newly appointed Ambassador of Pakistan to Netherlands, Suljuk Mustansar Tarar has said that the government is focusing on trade diplomacy and he would play a role in cooperation with the private sector to promote bilateral trade between Islamabad and Amsterdam. Tarar expressed these views while interacting with the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI), said a statement issued on Saturday. He said that though it is still uncertain how the European economies, including Netherlands, would shape up after Covid-19 pandemic, his focus would be to diversify Pakistan’s trade and exports with the Netherlands. For this purpose, he would share trade leads with the Ministry of Commerce and chambers of commerce & industry so that the business community of Pakistan could take advantage of available business opportunities in the Netherlands, he added. He said that he would also encourage investors of the Netherlands to explore Pakistan for joint ventures (JVs) and investment. He said that extra efforts are needed to increase Pakistan’s export base and the private sector has to play an enhanced role to achieve this goal. He also shared his plans to find out new opportunities for Pakistan’s private sector in the Netherlands so that with joint efforts, exports of Pakistan could be further enhanced. Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan said that Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Netherlands is just around $1 billion, which is not reflective of the real potential of both countries. He said that Pakistan’s embassy in Netherlands should identify new opportunities for exports promotion. He said that textile products are the main exports of Pakistan to the Netherlands; however, given the support of the government, many other products including pharmaceuticals, marble & granite, IT products, surgical instruments and others could be exported. He said that all Pakistani foreign missions should have upgraded books on Made in Pakistan that would help in further improving our exports. Other ICCI office-bearers also shared ideas for promoting Pakistan-Netherlands bilateral trade and economic relations.