LAHORE: Italy has started visa service from Lahore, and the facility would be extended to other major cities of the country very soon.
This was revealed by First Secretary of the Embassy of Italy Augusto Palmeiri while talking to business community at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday. LCCI President Kashif Anwar appreciated the step taken by the Italian embassy and said it would prove to be a great initiative to enhance bilateral trade.
First Secretary of the Embassy of Italy, Augusto Palmeiri highlighted that Lahore holds special significance as the first city he visited in an official capacity. He emphasised the importance of strengthening the ties between Italy and Pakistan, both in terms of relations and business ventures and fully endorsed the points raised by the LCCI President in his welcome address.
Augusto Palmeiri expressed satisfaction over the visit, considering it meaningful and fruitful. He noted the symbolic significance of opening visa services in Lahore, and
said that this is a signal of openness to visitors and business collaborations. He stressed the potential to elevate bilateral trade to new heights, setting an ambitious goal of reaching US$5 billion and pledged continuous efforts towards achieving this objective.
In efforts to enhance trade relations, Augusto Palmeiri mentioned plans for a step-by-step approach, encouraging entrepreneurs to participate in expos and exhibitions in Italy. He extended an invitation to attend upcoming expos, highlighting it as the initial step towards boosting business ties. These events provide opportunities for networking and fostering business-to-business connections, he said and added that significance of political cooperation through initiatives such as MoUs and trade agreements to facilitate trade growth. He mentioned a recent fruitful meeting with the Board of Investment (BoI), emphasizing the potential for Italian investments in Pakistan.
Augusto Palmeiri expressed eagerness to collaborate further and looked forward to
working closely to strengthen the relationship between Italy and Pakistan.
Earlier, LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that Lahore Chamber has always kept a strong working relation with the Embassy of Italy. The two organizations signed an MoU in March 2018 and ‘we would certainly like to renew this MoU in the presence of Italian Ambassador to further deepen the mutual ties.’ He said that inauguration of a building in Lahore dedicated to the visa facilitation of businesses and general public is an excellent initiative and hoped that the LCCI members would be facilitated on priority basis.
Kashif Anwar said that Italy holds great economic importance for Pakistan as one of the largest economies in the European Union with a GDP in excess of US $ 02 trillion. Italy is an important trading partner of Pakistan in Europe which comes at 8th place among the top exporting destinations for Pakistan.
He added that according to the State Bank of Pakistan’s data, Pakistan’s exports to Italy were around US $ 1.15 billion i
n 2022-23 while imports from Italy were US $ 527 million in the same period. This essentially means that the volume of bilateral trade volume stood at US $ 1.67 billion. Similarly, during first seven months of current fiscal years (July 2023 to January 2024), our exports to Italy were US $ 649 million while imports from Italy were US $ 277 million.
Kashif Anwar said that according to ITC World trade map, the total global imports of Italy are US $ 743 billion while the global exports of Italy are around US $ 700 billion. However, the share of Pakistan in the global imports of Italy is merely 0.15 percent. “You will agree with me that there is a considerable potential to take the bilateral trade volume to at least US $ 05 billion,” he told the Italian diplomat.
The LCCI President said that Pakistan’s exports to Italy are heavily concentrated in textiles, leather and rice, while the imports are dominated by pharmaceutical products, scrap and machinery etc. There is a tremendous potential for Pakistan to enhanc
e its exports to Italy in the sectors of processed food, sports goods and surgical instruments etc. Furthermore, there is considerable potential for Joint Ventures (JVs) in the sectors of tourism, education, healthcare and agriculture. He said that Italy has more than five million family-owned SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and ‘we would certainly like to benefit from the Italian expertise for the development of SME sector in Pakistan.’
He said that the private sectors of both Pakistan and Italy are engaged in JVs in the mining sector. Pakistan has ample marble and granite reserves and ‘we can certainly benefit more from latest machinery and technology from Italy to help us produce value-added marble products while increasing their exports to the rest of the world.’ He said that both countries should work to develop strong business linkages between their private sectors to explore all untapped areas of bilateral cooperation. In this connection, he suggested, regular exchange of delegations can help the
business community of both sides in exploiting the opportunities in each other’s marketplace.
The LCCI President especially mentioned about the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) established by the Government of Pakistan to primarily focus on expediting new investments in five areas including Defence, Agriculture, Minerals, Information Technology/Telecommunication and Energy. He hoped that Italian guest would apprise the investors from Italy about these investment opportunities in Pakistan under the SIFC.
In the end LCCI EC Member Khadim Hussain conveyed a vote of thanks on behalf of the attendees, acknowledging the positive outlook and commitment towards enhancing bilateral cooperation.
LCCI Senior Vice President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry also spoke.