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Pakistan willing to invest in textile, packaging sectors
11/21/2005
Visiting Pakistani business delegation in the city Sunday showed interest in joint venture investment in the country's textile and packaging industires, report agencies.
The 9-member delegation, led by Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association (PBEA) chairman Sabir Ahmed, expressed the interest when they called on Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury at his ministry. Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) president MA Awal and senior officials were present at the meeting.
Welcoming the Pakistani businessmen, Commerce Minister urged them to invest here to avail the GSP (generalised system of preference) and duty-free access facilities.
"We are surprised to see the investment facilities here," said excited Rashid Salim, a member of the visiting team and chief executive of Ideal International, a textile manufacturer in Karachi.
"We will analyse what we have got here, and then we will decide when and how to invest in Bangladesh," he added.
They, however, called upon the government to remove the bottlenecks, including poor port infrastructure, banking system, and inadequate power and gas supply to boost up regional and bilateral trade.
Shabir Ahmed informed the meeting that SAARC countries' trade is only 5 percent among themselves, while it is 65 percent among the mem bers of the European Union.
The visitors also discussed on how to strengthen regional relationship and create a strong regional trade bloc to sustain in the future globalised world.
Earlier, the delegation took part in a dialogue on Bangladesh-Pakistan Strategic Cooperation in Textile Sector, organised by BTMA at a city hotel.
Textile and Jute Minister Shajahan Siraj, Energy and Mineral Resources Advisor and BOI Executive Chairman Mahmudur Rahman, PBEA Chairman Sabir Ahmed, his delegation members and BTMA members took part in the discussion, with BTMA Chairman MA Awal in the chair.
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