PESHAWAR
The Ambassador of Tajikistan Ismatullah Nasruddin visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment (KPBOIT) office and held a detail discussion on business opportunities with Special Assistant to Chief Minister on industries Abdul Karim Khan, Vice Chairman KPBOIT and other member of the board.
The Vice Chairman welcomed the delegation and in his introductory remarks gave an overview about Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and potentials of bilateral trade with Tajikistan.
Dr Hassan Daud Butt, CEO KPBOIT, gave a detailed presentation on investment opportunities in the province in key sectors including tourism, IT, SEZs, Agriculture and Livestock, Mines & Minerals, IT and Hydel Power.
During the briefing he also highlighted top exports and imports of Pakistan with Tajikistan and emphasized on the need to enhance the bilateral trade.
Elaborating investment opportunities, he said that KP has a vast untouched natural potential that needs to be explored.
The Ambassador emphasized the importance of boosting bilateral trade ties, and highlighted the recent efforts to boost trade activities between the two countries.
He said that launching air services for commercial purposes is the need of the day as the two countries share common values.
The ambassador invited a business delegation from KP to visit Tajikistan and to hold an exhibition of Pakistani local products in Dushanbe and ensured all the support for the visit.
He also mentioned that meeting of the delegation with Tajikistan government officials will also be arranged during the visit.
The ambassador also emphasized that 4 to 5 areas of mutual cooperation must be identified before the visit to work on.
At the end of the briefing, CEO KPBOIT proposed a few recommendations including forming a working group to enhance trade cooperation between the two countries as the two countries are good neighbors and have good political relations.
Further he said that a visit of the official delegation from KP led by the business community will be scheduled in May 2022 and an exhibition of industrial and cultural products will be the part of official visit.
Former Vice President Sarhad Chamber, Manzoor Elahi also gave recommendations to enhance bilateral trade with Tajikistan.
The briefing at KPBOIT was followed by visit of Ambassador and the delegation to Torkham Border crossing where senior officials from Pakistan Custom gave a detailed briefing on bilateral trade.
Issues related to transit trade with Afghanistan, Tajikistan and other central Asian countries were also highlighted during the presentation and possible solutions were discussed.
The ambassador also visited the border crossing and michni post.
The briefing session was attended by public and private sector stakeholders including CEO KPEZDMC, Mr. Javed Khattak, industrialist.
