Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, January 6:

Zamir Akram, ambassador of Pakistan to Nepal has said Pakistani entrepreneurs are keen on setting up joint ventures with their Nepali counterparts in order to exploit huge trade and business potentialities between the two South Asian countries.

Akram said that the Pakistani entrepreneurs are keen on extending investment on garment and textile, skin processing, pharmaceuticals, surgical equipment and banking, insurance, tourism, tea, human resource development and service industry in Nepal.

“Pakistan has also proposed for free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, which is expected to bolster the bilateral trade relations,” he told the reporters, at an interaction organised by Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), today. The Pakistani prime minister Saukat Aziz’s visit in November last year has helped in bolstering trade and economic ties with Nepal, he said, adding, “The major thrust of the visit was to boost trade and economic ties and to promote bilateral investment opportunities.”

The Nepali products such as tea, cardamom, ginger, jute and raw leather goods have a greater market in Pakistan and these are the areas in which more joint ventures can be expected in the coming years. Akram also invited the Nepali entrepreneurs and exporters to participate in the upcoming Expo Pakistan-2005, scheduled for February 2-5 in Karachi and interact with the Pakistani business community to maximise bilateral trade ties. Organised by Pakistan Export Promotion Bureau, the expo is the largest trade show of Pakistan in which all spectrum of industrial development in Pakistan would be exhibited.

The four-day long event will bring together exhibitors, participants and industry related people from more than 80 countries and is an ideal platform for new business opportunities, alliances and joint ventures, he said.

According to him, a meeting of Nepal-Pakistan Joint Economic Commission scheduled for January 24-25 in Kathmandu will also be instrumental in reviewing bilateral trade relations in the coming days.