By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: The trade volume between Pakistan and Kuwait reached $525 million in 2021, said Senior Vice President of Pakistan Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry Wahub Jahangir, noting the country is hoping to boost the trade value between the two countries in 2023. Jahangir was speaking to Kuwait Times on the sidelines of a dinner reception organized by the Pakistani Embassy in honor of a visiting delegation of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry to Kuwait and celebrating the conclusion of the Pakistani products exhibition held last week at the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Wahub Jahangir

Jahangir said Pakistan's trade volume with Kuwait is considered "very low", since many Pakistani products are currently exported from Pakistan to Kuwait indirectly. "Those products actually are exported from Pakistan to UAE or European countries and from there they are sent to Kuwait. We hope this indirect trade is curbed to help increase trade value between Pakistan and Kuwait," he said. Talking about the exhibition, Jahangir said it succeeded in establishing a business-to-business link and received an overwhelming response from both the Kuwaiti and Pakistani communities.

Malik Muhammad Farooq

"It was a very useful collaboration between the two countries. We got in touch with many Kuwaiti companies to work on certain plans and deals in matters related to importing products and improving business relations," Pakistani Ambassador to Kuwait Malik Muhammad Farooq said. He pointed out that due to the strong trade ties between the two countries, Pakistan hopes to increase trade activities with Kuwait in the future.

"There are lots of potential opportunities available in the trade sector, and this was one of the main reasons we organized this event with the support of Kuwait's ministry of foreign affairs and Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We are thankful for this great collaboration," he said.

Boosting Pakistani workforce

Regarding cooperation on increasing the Pakistani workforce in Kuwait, the ambassador said: "In 2020, we had an agreement with the Kuwaiti government to provide doctors and nursing staff, especially as Kuwait is looking forward to increasing the country's workforce by more than half a million in different sectors, whether in education, IT or engineering. In Pakistan, we have a large skilled workforce. So, definitely we are working on bringing more people from Pakistan to Kuwait who are competent to work in various sectors and play a crucial role in the economic development of Kuwait."