£5 Billion Exports to UK In-Sight: Irfan Iqbal Sheikh

Mr. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, President FPCCI, has said that Pakistan has the potential to enhance its exports to UK to £5 bn from the current £1.9 bn in FY22 within five years as a number of factors are in Pakistan’s favor; namely, but not limited to, huge South Asian diaspora in UK; competitively-priced products vis-à-vis UK; existing upward trend in bilateral trade surplus; upsurge in people-to-people, business-to-business & chamber-to-chamber linkages over the last many months, i.e. post-covid; increase in demand or inquiries for imports from Pakistan in various sectors, e.g. IT services; value-added textiles; leather products; sports goods; fruits & vegetables and gems, jewelry & artifacts.

Mr. Moazzam Ahmed Khan, Pakistani High Commissioner in UK, said that visa facilitation for the business communities of the two sides holds the key to better networking, trade visits& exhibitions; and, both the governments should work together to ease the visa processing requirements and processing time. He was speaking at the occasion of a high-profile meeting with the FPCCI delegation at Pakistani High Commission in London.

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It is pertinent to note that with the facilitation of Pakistani consulate in London, an official FPCCI delegation led by its Senior Vice President, Mr. Suleman Chawla, is visiting various parts of UK for trade promotion MoUs; B2B networking and devising facilitative mechanisms between FPCCI & various large UK chambers of commerce.

Mr. Suleman Chawla said that a large number of influential Pakistani, British and British-Pakistani business, industry and trade community members participated in the meetings, events and trade promotion activities; which will result in millions of pounds worth of trade, investment and JV agreements.

Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, immediate Past President FPCCI, who is also accompanying the delegation, apprised the counterpart chambers that importing from Pakistan provides a win-win proposition as Pakistani textiles, leather, IT, sports, surgical and foods products have become very competitive due to the depreciating currency; upsurge in production; import of new machinery and improved awareness on international standards, certifications & accreditations.

Mr. Imran Khalil Naseer, Chairman of FPCCI’s Pak-UK business council, expressed his desire to foster strategic partnerships with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) through Greater Manchester Chambers of Commerce (GMCC), especially in financial services, creative and innovation sectors between businesses operating within the Greater Manchester region and Pakistan. He also invited mayor of Manchester, Mr. Andy Burnham and his team to visit Pakistan; along with business community representatives to explore collaborations with their Pakistani counterparts.