‘Vast scope to forge Bahrain-Pakistan business ties’

Manama : The first “Pakistan Bahrain Business Opportunities Conference 2016” will be held in the Kingdom on September 25. It is organised by the Pakistani embassy along with the Commerce Ministries of both Pakistan and Bahrain and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

Below are some excerpts from the interview with Pakistan Ambassador Javed Malik on the conference:

What is the significance of this business conference?

We believe that there is a huge scope to expand the bilateral ties between Pakistan and Bahrain particularly our business, trade and economic ties, and this conference will pave the way for further enhancing our trade relations.

In today’s world of diplomacy, trade is the pivot around which the relations between countries can truly grow. While Pakistan and Bahrain share a historic and longstanding relationship, there is further scope to expand our economic ties. Therefore, we are working on various initiatives to take our relations to a new level. This conference would pave the way for closer interaction between our business communities, and identify areas of cooperation.

Who will lead the Pakistani delegation? How many are expected to participate?

Bahrain’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani invited Pakistani Commerce Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan to co-chair the conference. He will lead a high-level delegation of businessmen and officials.

In an effort to promote close business-to-business relations, a large delegation from Pakistan comprising of over 100 businessmen will be visiting the Kingdom to take part in the conference and meet with Bahraini businessmen and officials.

Will BCCI’s Pakistan counterpart attend the event?

Rauf Alam, the President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry, will lead a delegation of businessmen. In addition to taking part in the conference, they will hold special meetings with the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry in order to explore ways to further expand business, trade and commerce relations between both countries.

How can Pakistan fulfil Bahrain’s food security needs?

Being a large agricultural economy, we have vast fertile lands and Pakistan can be a “green basket” for Bahrain and the GCC region. Our fruits, vegetables, livestock and agro-based products are the finest in the world. In my meetings with the BCCI and Bahraini businessmen, I understand that there are many opportunities in this regard and we would be keen to take this further during the meetings.

And exports?

Pakistan exports some of the finest products to the world, and while agro and livestock products such as rice, wheat, halal meat, seafood and poultry remain key areas, we also export some of the finest textiles, leather, sports and surgical goods. Some of the leading sports companies of global repute are importing sports goods and equipment from Pakistan. Additionally we have a vast presence of minerals, onyx, salt and precious metals, which are in great demand globally. Our cement and building material industry as well as defence industry is on the upswing and we believe that there is tremendous scope to expand our exports to Bahrain and the GCC region. 

How is Bahrain significant to Pakistan? 

Due to the positive and investor-friendly policies of the Bahraini government led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Kingdom is positioning itself as a hub of trade in
the GCC region and we believe that some of our Pakistani businessmen and traders can utilise the advantages of doing business in Bahrain. 

How does Pakistan view itself in the global business arena?

Our government believes in welcoming international business to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities of trade and investment in Pakistan. Due to the prudent policies, Pakistan has been upgraded as an emerging market. 

Pakistan offers some of the most attractive returns on investment and we would invite Bahraini and Gulf-based businessmen to play an active role in Pakistan’s growing opportunities. With a population exceeding 180 million, Pakistan is a huge market and we look forward to closer economic ties with Bahrain.

The government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has tremendous goodwill due to good governance and transparency and this is a major factor that has created a lot of interest among businessmen from Bahrain and other GCC countries to further expand the business, trade and investment relations with Pakistan.