Businessmen for bilateral trade with Maldives

LAHORE: High Commissioner of Maldives to Pakistan Farzana Zahir has stressed the need to work together for enhancing tourism and bilateral trade, a statement said on Monday.

Speaking at an interactive session on “Tourism opportunities in Maldives” at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), she said that Maldives was a preferred destination for leisure and tourism.

LCCI president Mian Nauman Kabir, senior vice president Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and vice president Haris Ateeq also addressed the meeting.

The High Commissioner said that 85 per cent of the workers in Maldives’ hotel industry were vaccinated. She said that one million tourists visited Maldives last year, out of which only 5,000 were from Pakistan. She said that direct flights would be launched between the two countries.

Mian Nauman Kabir of LCCI said that Maldives is a magnet for tourists from all over the world due to its islands, beautiful blue seas, sparkling sandy beaches, magnificent cliffs and a variety of water sports.

“[The] total [bilateral] trade was just $6.14 million in 2020/21 with balance in favour of Pakistan. We need to do much more to know about each other’s potential areas for enhancing trade”, he said, adding that Pakistan could provide several goods and services to Maldives particularly pharmaceuticals, rice, furniture, surgical instruments, halal meat, vegetables and fruits.

The bilateral trade volume was very low which could be increased by enhancing liaison among the private sectors of both countries, and Maldives offers a lot of trade and investment opportunities to businessmen and industrialists of Pakistan, Kabir added.

He said that tourism has been the key driver of growth and poverty reduction in Maldives. It has also been the biggest source of foreign exchange and revenue for Maldives, he said, adding that Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with Maldives, which are based on mutual respect and common interests.

Mian Rehman Aziz Chan said that tourism was one of the priority sectors of Pakistan. “We should benefit from the experience of Maldives for modernising the tourism sector. Joint ventures can further strengthen the bilateral relations”, he said.