Karachi: Consul General of Turkey Tolga Ucak has said that as the coronavirus situation is likely to improve after April 2021, the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI)’s business community should immediately start online interactions with their Turkish counterparts. Subsequently, they should look into the possibility of sending a business delegation to Turkey in the post COVID scenario, to explore more new avenues of trade and investment cooperation in different sectors of the economy.
Exchanging views with President KCCI Shariq Vohra, Senior Vice President Saqib Goodluck, and KCCI Managing Committee members, the Turkish Consul General said that the business communities can collaborate with each other in numerous sectors of the economy. He particularly focused on the Information Technology (IT) sector, as Pakistan’s software houses were doing very well, while the potential to enhance cooperation also exists in tourism, education and automobile sectors.
“Although a lot of Pakistani students have been visiting Turkey for studies, Turkish students can also come to Pakistan for their IT education, and they can learn good English language here as well,” he added.
He stressed the need to encourage joint ventures in different sectors of the economy. He said Turkey can also assist in setting up a tram service system in Karachi, particularly at the coastal line of sea view, which would change the face of Karachi and become a tourists’ attraction.
While expressing keenness to strengthen trade and investment ties between the business communities of the two countries, the Turkish Consul General assured that the commercial section of Turkish Consulate in Karachi was ready to fully assist Karachi’s business & industrial community, with the intention to improve trade and investment ties with their Turkish counterparts. To deal with trade-related conflicts and protect the interest of customers, he suggested to form a private-to-private sector committee between the two countries.
President KCCI Shariq Vohra, in his remarks, said that although the two countries have been enjoying excellent brotherly relations, the same was not depicted in the existing trade, which remains confined to millions instead of billions.
He was of the opinion that both sides, instead of discussing numerous issues hindering trade, should initially prioritise any of the two major issues, like high protective duty by Turkey on import of textiles from Pakistan, and delays in signing of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries. The resolution of serious issues such as these would certainly be a big achievement, as it would result in substantially improving the existing trade volume.
“We have to identify potential sectors and also work jointly with Turkish business community to improve our production capacity,” President KCCI added.
To bring the business communities closer and further improve trade ties, Shariq Vohra suggested to organise at least three to four smaller trade shows a year. Each trade show must be focused on just two to three sectors, as it has been observed that larger number of sectors in a single trade show made it futile; relevant exhibitors and audience should be invited to become part of such events in order to make them result oriented.
He further mentioned that although Karachi and Konya were declared sister cities long time ago, not much activity had been witnessed to promote these cities. Therefore, a strategy must be defined for regularly holding cultural and trade promotional events in both cities, which would not only bring the people of two brotherly countries closer to each other but also prove favorable for bilateral trade.
The KCCI President was of the opinion that a large number of Pakistani students have been frequently visiting Turkey for studies, which indicates the potential of this particular sector; hence, Turkish educational institutions and schools should look into the possibility of undertaking joint ventures in Pakistan.
