Bilateral trade between Italy, Pakistan can swell to €4 billion annually

Islamabad: The bilateral trade between Italy and Pakistan can swell to €4 billion annually by fully exploiting the existing potential of the private sector to a maximum extent.

Talking to the honorary investment consular to Milano, Italy Muhammad Sheheryar Khan, Chief Executive Officer Pakistan Furniture Council Mian Kashif Ashfaq said on Sunday that Ambassador of Italy to Pakistan Andreas Ferrarese is playing key role in boosting the trade relations and strengthening close coordination between the private sectors of either side.

He said this year trade has exponentially grown and can reach around €2 billion and in 2021 it was recorded to €1.52 billion. It is the first time that Pakistan’s exports surpass €1 billion and are more than imports in Italy, making Italy the second largest export destination in the European market.

He told that to achieve the €4 billion goal both countries need to enhance investments and explore new avenues of business cooperation such as in Information and renewable technologies.

He further added that during the last 10 years the Pakistani community in Italy has grown up from 25,000 thousand to 200,000 and “they’re very well accepted by the Italian population as they are hard workers”.

He further added that Pakistan and Italy have a long history of cordial relations and cooperation in political, economic, cultural, and social spheres. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the two nations have unanimity of views on several issues of global importance, and mutual cooperation in all fields has been on the rise.

Muhammad Sheheryar Khan who is also an honorary tourism ambassador to Italy said with a population of around 220 million and a constantly growing demand for high-end products, Pakistan remains an attractive market for Italian manufacturers and business people , he added.

He said It is worth mentioning that remittances from Pakistani workers in Italy hit an all-time high. With figures of $711.7 million in FY22, Italy has become the seventh-largest center of worker remittances to Pakistan globally and the top one in the EU countries.