The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) organized a farewell dinner in honor of H.E. Adam M. Tugio, Ambassador of Indonesia to Pakistan. Additional Secretary Foreign Affairs Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, High Commissioner of Malaysia H.E. Muhammad Azhar Mazlan, Ambassador of Azerbaijan H.E. Khazar Farhadov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan H.E.Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Philippine H.E. Maria Agnes M. Cervantes, Ambassador of Nepal H.E. Tapas Adhikari, dignitaries, journalists and a large number of the business community attended the dinner.

ICCI and the business community proposed to give the highest civil award of Pakistan to the Ambassador of Indonesia for his extraordinary services to strengthen the bilateral ties between Pakistan and Indonesia in economic, trade, political, diplomatic and other fields.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of Indonesia H.E. Adam M. Tugio said that Indonesia and Pakistan have huge potential to increase their trade and economic ties and the role of business communities of both sides is significant in this regard. He said that there are many potential sectors in both the countries including tourism, trade, technology, energy and agriculture through which both countries can expand their relations. He said that Indonesia and Pakistan are connected by historical religious ties and we have to transfer this legacy to our next generations. He said that the best memories of his life are associated with Pakistan. This country is extremely hospitable and it is unparalleled in its natural beauty. He said that his experiences as the ambassador of Indonesia in Pakistan were wonderful. The business community here has a lot of potential, and it is hoped that the leadership of Pakistan's business community, especially the ICCI, will play an active role in further strengthening the economic and trade relations between Indonesia and Pakistan. He is grateful to the ICCI for organizing such an excellent farewell function in his honor. There are strong possibilities of Pakistan-Indonesia direct flight being operational and by finalizing it soon, direct air connectivity will be established between the two countries. The free trade agreement between Pakistan and Indonesia will be finalized soon after which mutual trade between the two countries will increase further. He has done a lot of work to increase the mutual relations of the people in both the countries and more work is needed on this. Indonesia can be a gateway for Pakistan in ASEAN countries and in the same way, Pakistan can develop trade routes for Indonesia in South Asia and Central Asian countries.

Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce said that Indonesia should promote Pakistan as a full dialogue partner in ASEAN in order to enhance the economic and trade ties between both sides. He said the role of the business community is very important in increasing trade relations between Indonesia and Pakistan and assured that ICCI would play a significant role in this regard. Tourism, IT and textiles are important sectors for strengthening mutual economic and trade relations in both countries. The mutual trade between Pakistan and Indonesia, which is $4.5 billion dollars, needs to be further increased, for which ICCI will play its important role. The trade between ASEAN and Pakistan is currently $11 billion, which is very less than its potential and more work is needed to improve it. He hoped that Adam M. Tugio will play his best role to improve the image of Pakistan in future.

Zafar Bakhtawari former President ICCI and Secretary General UBG Pakistan said that direct flights and free trade agreement between Pakistan and Indonesia is the need of the hour and its implementation is inevitable. He said that the economic and trade relations between the two countries will increase with the direct flights while the mutual relations would also be further improved.

Additional Secretary MOFA Rizwan Saeed Sheikh said that Pakistan and Indonesia can help each other in providing trade corridors. He said that the geo-strategic location of both countries can strengthen their geo-economic benefits. He said that Indonesia can play a key role in facilitating Pakistan to get full dialogue partner status with ASEAN and the membership of ASEAN Regional Forum.

Senior Vice President, ICCI Faad Waheed said that Pakistan and Indonesia have huge potential to explore new sectors to further strengthen bilateral economic ties. ICCI Goup Leader Khalid Malik said that Indonesia and Pakistan are connected in historical and religious relations, and we want to further deepen these relations between them to achieve mutual benefits.

Vice President ICCI Engineer Azharul Islam said that he recently visited Indonesia with a trade delegation and there are plenty of opportunities to increase bilateral trade between the two countries.