Colombo, Jan 13 (NIA) – Sri Lanka and Pakistan, on Friday, inaugurated a mega trade expo in capital Colombo, aimed at strengthening economic and trade ties between the two countries.
The trade expo, which is the largest ever exhibition of Pakistan organised outside the country, kicked off with the participation of 156 companies.
Speaking at the inauguration, High Commissioner of Pakistan Major Gen. Syed Shakeel Hussain said that the event should work as a catalyst for synergizing deeper economic relations between the two countries.
The Ambassador said that Pakistan was a country of 200 million people with nearly 50 billion US dollar imports and it is expected that growth would reach from current 5% to 7% in the next two years with the investment under CPEC projects.
He urged the Sri Lankan government to explore Pakistan as a market for Sri Lankan goods and services.
He also expressed hope that the people of Sri Lanka would not only have the opportunity to witness the varieties of Pakistan’s countless and extremely diverse products but would also be able to buy them.
Sri Lanka’s Minister for Plantation Industries, Navin Dissanayake said that the importance of collaboration between Sri Lanka and Pakistan had increased tremendously in modern times for promoting cultural, civilizational and trade dialogue.
Dissanayake recalled that Pakistan had also rendered unconditional support to Sri Lanka in the form of military hardware and training to eliminate terrorism from the island country.
The Pakistan trade expo was organised by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) in collaboration with the High Commission of Pakistan in Sri Lanka.
The expo features leading Pakistani companies and manufacturers of Engineering Products, Auto Parts, Agro Products, Textile & Clothing, Designer Wear, Handicraft & Traditional Textiles, Pharmaceuticals, Cutlery, Furniture, Carpets, Marble and Services.
