Ambassador Andreas Ferrarese sees 200,000-strong Pakistani diaspora in Italy symbolizing enduring friendship

Celina Ali

Islamabad: For Italy’s Ambassador to Pakistan Andreas Ferrarese the 200,000-strong Pakistani diaspora in Italy symbolizes the enduring friendship between the two nations.

The envoy, who completes his four-year term this month, deserves credit for fostering fast-growing cooperation in various sectors, including trade and investment.

During Ambassador Ferrarese’s term, the noteworthy achievements include exports to Italy increasing by 46% increase from the previous year, and remittances hitting a 41% rise.

Key contributors to this growth were value-added sectors, witnessing remarkable increases in plastic products by 208%, sports goods by 80%, leather by 42%, home textiles by 36%, and garments by 35%.

Despite global challenges, Pakistan’s footwear exports to Italy increased by 19%, securing Italy as the third-largest export destination for Pakistani footwear.

In the agro-products sector, Pakistan dominates as the largest exporter of rice to Italy, particularly in the Basmati sub-sector, with an 82% market share.

Italy invested in various sectors in Pakistan, including food processing, chemicals, construction, leather, footwear, energy-related equipment, and IT during the last financial year.

Italy, with the highest Pakistani diaspora in the EU after Brexit, is also contributing significantly to Pakistani workers’ remittances, constituting around 25% of the total from the EU.

Ambassador Andreas Ferrarese has played a crucial role in advancing these positive developments.