UK investors urged to invest in CPEC SEZs

China Economic Net

Islamabad: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Muhammad Shakeel Munir has said that the investors from the United Kingdom have a great opportunity to invest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

In a meeting with Lord Mayor of Birmingham Councillor Muhammad Afzal, the ICCI chief mentioned that the CPEC SEZs were open to investment from around the world.

He appreciated the services of Lord Mayor of Birmingham Councillor Muhammad Afzal for the Pakistani community and Pakistan.

Munir contended that Pakistan offered great opportunities to foreign investors in CPEC and in many other sectors of its economy and urged the Lord Mayor of Birmingham to encourage investors from the UK to explore Joint Ventures (JVs) and investment in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Lord Mayor of Birmingham Councillor Muhammad Afzal noted that Pakistan and UK had great potential to promote bilateral trade and the Pakistani private sector should step up efforts to capitalize on this unrealized potential for achieving beneficial outcomes.

Lord Mayor of Birmingham said that after Brexit, the UK was interested in promoting trade relations with various countries including Pakistan.

He maintained that Birmingham was the second largest city of the UK with a Gross domestic product (GDP) equal to that of Portugal, which showed its economic potential for Pakistan.

He observed that a strong Pakistani community of around 0.3 million people was living in Birmingham who could play a role in strengthening Pakistan-UK trade relations.

He said that construction was a booming industry in Birmingham, which offered good scope of cooperation to Pakistan.

He assured that he would encourage close cooperation of ICCI with Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) for improving business linkages between the private sectors of both the countries.

Lt. General Muhammad Afzal (retd), former Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) also accompanied him during the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, former Chairman NDMA stated that Pakistan’s Information Technology sector had the potential to enhance IT exports from US $ 100 to 200 billion, which should be realized to improve the financial and economic sovereignty of the country.

He stressed that the business community should develop its strong internal systems for sustainable growth instead of looking towards the public sector. He also shared his experiences of developing financial models to support CPEC.