KARACHI, Dec 04 (APP): Consul General of Kuwait in Karachi Salem Yousif Al-Hamdan said that for further discussion and devising strategies for easing the issuance of business visas, Kuwaiti Interior Ministry is ready to hold negotiations and is waiting for the response from Pakistan side.
Kuwaiti Consul General, who was speaking at a meeting during his visit to KCCI, informed the business community that around 120 communities were living in Kuwait which was the basic reason why Kuwait had to adopt stringent visa policy which was not only for Pakistanis but for all foreigners.
“We want to ease issuance of business visa hence, negotiations must take place between the Interior Ministries of the two friendly countries as soon as possible,” he remarked , said a statement issued by Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Wednesday.
President KCCI Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan, Senior Vice President Arshad Islam, Vice President Shahid Ismail, Chairman, Diplomatic Missions Liaison Sub-committee Shamoon Zaki and KCCI Managing Committee members were also present .
In response to President KCCI’s remarks about the significance of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and that Kuwaiti business community had been invited to invest in numerous CPEC related projects, Kuwaiti Consul General endorsed CPEC importance which would have a positive impact not only on Pakistan but the entire Asian region.
“To attract the interest of Kuwaiti business community and other investors from the Gulf, we asked the Government of Balochistan to organize a CPEC Conference in Karachi and we will make sure that this conference is attended not only by the Kuwaiti business community but also by other potential investors from the gulf region,” he said adding that this conference would help in raising awareness about the significance of CPEC project and provide a perfect opportunity to highlight the immense CPEC-related investment opportunities in Pakistan.
Salem Al-Hamdan further mentioned that Kuwait had signed many MoUs with different institutions from all provinces of Pakistan while work on some of these MoUs had already begun.
Kuwaiti Investment Authority was also intending to undertake numerous projects in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh province.
Referring to an MoU signed between Kuwait Chamber and Karachi Chamber, he said that both chambers had excellent relations in the past but with the passage of time, some gap had developed as no interaction was taking place between the two institutions.
“Hence, I decided to visit KCCI and will certainly be making efforts to restore communication between Kuwait and Karachi Chambers by playing the role of bridge between the two institutions,” he added.
He said that Pakistan and Kuwait, being brotherly and friendly countries, had been enjoying very old and good relations. Many commodities were smoothly being traded while Kuwaitis had very positive sentiments for Pakistanis, who were working really hard in different sectors of Kuwaiti economy.
Kuwaiti CG was of the opinion that Karachi city, being the financial, trading and industrial center of the Pakistan with two ports, can offer a lot of trade and investment opportunities to Kuwaiti business community.
But, he continued, the business communities of both the brotherly countries would have to meet regularly, exchange trade delegations and explore more avenues of trade and investment cooperation.
President KCCI Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan, in his welcome address, said during 2018, Pakistan exported goods worth $ 172.69 million to Kuwait as against exports of $ 166.78 million in 2017 showing a growth of 3.54 percent while our imports from Kuwait witnessed a decline of 4.11 percent to $1.40 billion over the same period.
He also invited Kuwaiti business community to participate in Karachi Chamber’s forthcoming “My Karachi – Oasis of Harmony” International exhibition which is scheduled to be held at Karachi Expo Center from April 3rd to 5th, 2020.
This exhibition would provide a perfect opportunity to witness the potential of Pakistan’s retail market.
The exhibition is attended by almost one million visitors whereas many countries had been regularly participating in this show every year, he said.
