The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) and UK Pakistan Business Council (Pakistan Chapter) (UKPBC) have signed an agreement of cooperation to work jointly for further improving bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and UK. For this purpose, a ceremony was held at Chamber House in which Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President ICCI and Khursheed Barlas, President UKPBC Pakistan signed the MoU.
By signing the agreement, ICCI and UKPBC have agreed to work together for organizing an investment conference on Pakistan in the UK in the summer season this year to highlight the investment potential available in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy including SEZ in order to attract more investors from the UK including overseas Pakistanis to Pakistan. Both will also work in close collaboration with their respective governments to further enhance business linkages between the private sectors of both countries. They will work jointly to enhance bilateral cooperation between their respective members in order to explore new avenues of promoting bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and the UK.  
Speaking at the occasion, Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that Pakistan and UK have the potential to increase their bilateral trade from current £ 3 billion to £ 10 billion by developing direct connectivity between their private sectors. He said that close cooperation of UK companies with Pakistani counterparts would help in producing value added products and improving our exports. He said that ICCI and UKPBC will work together to foster greater business linkages between the member companies of both trade bodies in order to explore new opportunities of trade promotion, JVs and investment. He said that both sides shall provide regular support to each other and exchange information on business and investment opportunities so that the business community of both sides could take benefit of all potential business opportunities.  Khursheed Barlas, President, UK Pakistan Business Council said that the UKPBC with an organizational chapter in Pakistan was a developing organisation building stronger business relations between Pakistan and UK. He said that UKPBC in cooperation with ICCI would make strong efforts to achieve the objectives and goals envisaged in the agreement for the mutual benefit of business communities of both countries.