Faad Waheed, Acting President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) said that Pakistan is a major importer of palm oil from Indonesia, but Indonesia has placed curbs on the export of this commodity, which has created lot of concerns in the cooking oil and ghee manufacturers in Pakistan as it would lead create shortage of this food item in our country and create more problems for the consumers. He appealed to the Indonesian authorities to reconsider their decision and restore the normal export of palm oil to Pakistan. He said this while talking to H.E. Adam M. Tugio, Ambassador of Indonesia during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Faad Waheed said that Pakistan and Indonesia are two important countries of the Muslim world and a lot of opportunities are waiting for their private sectors to enhance cooperation in multiple fields. He said that both countries should facilitate regular exchange of trade delegations and encourage their investors to explore investment opportunities in each other country to achieve mutually advantageous economic benefits. He highlighted Pakistan’s prospective industries for cooperation with Indonesia including information technology, tourism, pharmaceuticals, textiles, cooking oil and others. He reaffirmed ICCI’s commitment to strengthen liaison with the Indonesian Embassy in order to improve business linkages between the private sectors of both countries.

Speaking on the occasion, H.E. Adam M. Tugio, Ambassador of Indonesia said that his country is now focusing on biofuels to meet the rising domestic demand, which has prompted the need to reduce the export of palm oil. He said that Pakistan can export many products to Indonesia including pharmaceuticals, surgical and medical equipment, footballs, leather products. He said that both countries have good scope to enhance cooperation in the hospitality sector. He said that Pakistan has great potential to promote religious tourism. He said that the business community of Pakistan should identify areas of its comparative advantage and he would connect them with Indonesian counterparts to improve bilateral trade. He said that a private airline of Indonesia would start direct flights with Pakistan that would help improve people-to-people and business-to-business relations.

Engr. Azhar ul Islam Zafar, Vice President ICCI thanked the Indonesian Ambassador for visiting ICCI and said that close cooperation between ICCI and his mission would help improve business relations between the two countries.

Mian Shaukat Masud, Faseeh ullah Khan, Maqsood Tabish, Dr. Muhammad Usman, Ashfaq Chatha, Rizwan Chheena and others were also present on the occasion.