PM Imran Khan invites Tajik investors to Pakistan citing govt incentives

DUSHANBE: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday invited the business community of Tajikistan to invest their capital in Pakistan, assuring them all-out facilitation by his government.

Addressing the Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Business Forum, the prime minister said his government was already on the course of incentivising and facilitating own business sector through different measures. The prime minister is currently on two-day visit mainly to attend the SCO Summit in Dushanbe and is accompanied by high-level delegation including the representatives of 67 companies of multiple sectors, including textiles, minerals, pharmaceuticals, logistics and others.

The forum was organised by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. A total of 67 companies from Pakistan and more than 150 Tajik companies participated in the event.

A large number of B2B meetings were held among companies representing textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather, fruits and vegetables, processed food, transport and logistics, construction, education, tourism and mining. Fifteen MoUs were signed for joint ventures and many orders were booked by Pakistani exporters.

The prime minister, who was accompanied by his Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, praised Tajikistan’s cheap and clean energy, particularly hydroelectricity, saying “Unfortunately we have very expensive electricity in Pakistan.”

The premier said work on the CASA-1000 power transmission line would be expedited so Pakistan too to achieve benefit from clean energy. He told the Tajik business community Pakistan was a 220 million nation and a huge market for investment and invited them to invest in Pakistan assuring them all out facilitation for benefit of the two countries.

He said the current Pak-Tajik trade was a miniscule and far below than the existing potential and the Tajik investors, as they come to Pakistan, would look how the government was incentivizing the business sector.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met on the sidelines of SCO Council of Heads of State in Dushanbe and discussed China-Pakistan bilateral relations, economic corridor and regional situation.

Terming Pakistan and China as iron brothers and strategic partners, the prime minister conveyed cordial greetings for Chinese President Xi and Premier Li. He appreciated China’s support for assisting Pakistan’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Imran Khan underscored that CPEC was a transformational project and both sides were working for its timely completion. It was agreed that the two sides would maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges and closely coordinate on all issues of common interest.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan stressed that the establishment of an inclusive government with all ethnic groups on board was inevitable to achieve sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan, which was passing through a defining moment.

Peace and stability in Afghanistan is not only important for Pakistan and Tajikistan but also for the whole region, Imran Khan said while addressing a joint press conference along with President Emomali Rahmon after holding one-on-one meeting and delegation level talks.

The prime minister said besides having wide-ranging talks to strengthen bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, they discussed the most important issue of the situation in Afghanistan. He said that peace and stability in Afghanistan was very important especially for Afghan people, who were suffering for the last 40 years. The Prime Minister said that he and President Rahmon discussed how they could ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan.