RCCI assures full participation in trade delegation to Ethiopia

Rawalpindi: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) on Thursday vowed to participate fully in the business delegation flying to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) on March 5-10 for exploring trade and investment opportunities.

The leadership of RCCI gave assurance of their full participation during a meeting with H.E. Jemal Beker Abdula, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the FDRE to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan here at the RCCI office.

During the meeting, RCCI President Mr. Saqib Rafiq said the business community of Rawalpindi would take part in the business delegation in a big number in order to boost the bilateral trade between the two countries to the next level.

“There is a huge potential of bilateral trade between the two countries which can be increased by connecting the business community of both countries,” he said while pointing out the low volume of trade between Ethiopia and Pakistan.

Ambassador H.E. Jemal Beker said absence of institutional linkages between the two countries was a major reason behind the low volume of bilateral trade. However, concerted efforts were being made in this regard.

He briefed the Rawalpindi businessmen about the trade delegation to Ethiopia which was crucial to bolster the connectivity between the business communities of both the countries. “Our government attaches great importance to Pakistan which has enormous trade, business and investment potential.”

The envoy said it was a right time for Pakistani businessmen to enter the market of Ethiopia which was a gateway to entire Africa that had total population of around 1.4 billion people. “Visit of the Pakistani business community to Ethiopia will open a new window of trade and investment opportunities for them in diverse sectors of economy including textile, pharmaceutical, rice, chemicals, steel and cement.”

Likewise, he said Pakistan could import coffee, tea, pulses, oilseeds and other agricultural products from Ethiopia.

The ambassador also assured the business community of his full cooperation in facilitating their participation in the trade delegation to Ethiopia which entailed government-to-business meetings, business-to-business meetings, visits to the industrial and tourist sites.

He said the government of Ethiopia had been offering a lot of concessions for the trade delegations which included subsidized airfare and accommodation, free transportation during their stay at Addis Ababa and others.

Meetings with the top leadership of the Government of Ethiopia with the representatives of trade delegations had also been scheduled to further boost the bilateral relations between the two countries, he added.

The ambassador said the Ethiopian Airlines would soon start direct flight operations from Karachi to Addis to increase people-to-people contacts between the two countries.

Senior Vice President Muhammad Hamza Sarosh, Vice President Faisal Shahzad, Executive Members and Chamber Members were also present during the meeting.