“Bismillah Arahama Niraheem
Mian Shaukat Masud, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry, respected members of the chamber, ladies and gentlemen:
Aslam o Alaikum wa Rahmat Ullah
I am grateful to Mian Shaukat Masud, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry and all other respected members of the body for having invited me here today to address this august gathering.
Whenever I have addressed the business community in Pakistan, I have stressed on the need to enhance the level and scope of the existing economic and trade relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. This is so because these do not match the level of political affinity that has traditionally existed between the two brotherly countries. I have also found that though there is immense willingness and eagerness on the part of the leaderships, the governments and the business communities of the two countries to do so, it is a lack of the right initiatives that has hindered the attainment of the desired objectives.
As the Saudi Ambassador, it has always been my earnest endeavour to encourage and promote business contact between the entrepreneurs of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. In this regard, my work has been greatly facilitated by the liberalization of trade policies by the Government of Saudi Arabia details of which can be obtained by accessing SAGIA’s website (www.sagia.gov.sa). If utilized to its optimum, this new regimen can contribute immensely in boosting the existing economic and trade relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. I hope that your chamber and its esteemed members would take the requisite initiative in this regard to the benefit of the people of the two countries.
The need for the same is rendered further relevant in view of the multi-faceted similarities between the two countries in the religious, social and cultural domains. The people of both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are driven by similar motives and working together for them would not be difficult at all. What is required is for the business communities of the two countries to get together and devise short- and long-term strategies to boost these relations. I can straight away suggest the following initiatives in this regard:
1. Maintain contact with the chambers of commerce and other trade bodies in Saudi Arabia. With the electronic facility available now, it would not be difficult at all to do so.
2. Encourage Pakistani businessmen and entrepreneurs to invest in Saudi Arabia.
3. Coordinate with relevant bodies / individuals in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to organize single country exhibitions in the two countries.
4. Encourage travel of trade delegations to both countries to look into the prospects of promoting the existing economic relations.
5. Encourage efforts for boosting direct trade between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. This is particularly important in view of the current practice of routing Saudi products into the Pakistani market through third countries.
6. Facilitate businessmen and entrepreneurs in locating opportunities in both countries for setting up compatible businesses.
I would again like to reiterate that the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad and the Saudi Consulate in Karachi would extend all support to facilitate a speedy processing of all cases that are forwarded to them. All you need to do is to let the Embassy know with details.
I leave here with a feeling that I have not been able to do as much as I wanted to in terms of boosting the economic and trade relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. I am sure that the next Saudi Ambassador would follow the objective with renewed zeal and determination.
I would also call upon you to start taking practical measures and focus on specific areas that offer maximum scope for enhancing the level of the existing trade relations between the two countries. You would have to be more proactive and forceful in this regard. That is the only way to move forward. Together with the support of your chamber and other chambers throughout the country, I am sure you could change the face of the existing economic and trade relations that would lead to enhanced interaction among the business communities and entrepreneurs for the greater good of the two countries and their people.
I wish you the best in your endeavours.
