Italy can extend cooperation with Pakistan in many areas: Ambassador Andreas Ferrarese
Newswire
Islamabad: Italy’s Ambassador to Pakistan Andreas Ferrarese has said that dairy, livestock, olive, olive products, plastics, processed food, and the construction sector were the areas where Italy could extend its cooperation with Pakistan.
In a meeting with Pakistani traders, he said Italy wanted to start a new era of economic and trade cooperation with Pakistan through transfer of technology and for up gradation of Pakistan’s textile industry.
“We were considering to be established a training institute to promote the gems and jewelry and gemstone industry in Gilgit-Baltistan to promote trade and investment opportunities in these areas”, he added.
Italy, the envoy said, would establish a gemstones training institute in Gilgit-Baltistan to exploit the potential of these areas as well as enhancing mutual cooperation between both the countries.
Ambassador Ferrarese said that currently Italy was providing technical assistance to Pakistan in agriculture and textiles industry up gradation through modern machinery, value addition in agriculture, leather, and marble sectors.
Pakistan was also working to expand its cooperation in agricultural items including dairy, livestock, olive, and olive products, processed food, and construction sector in Italian market, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, FPCCI chairman Qurban Ali said the move of Italian government would be a milestone in the development of the gems and jewellery industry in Gilgit-Baltistan, and it will also help to achieve the objective of employment generation in the region.
He said that Gilgit-Baltistan was currently a region rich in natural resources, including precious stones and minerals. He said that Italy-Pakistan economic cooperation, and bilateral trade was exemplary, which would be further enhanced. Pakistan has an export potential of worth $ 32 billion annually in the latent gemstones industry to earn revenue for strengthening the country’s economy, he said that local exporters of gemstones must go for innovation and add on modern technology to enhance the value of precious and semi-precious stones for the international competitive market to earn more profits.
Qurban Ali said that Pakistan was home of precious and semi precious stones and for utilising this potential, establishment of the technology and innovation driven industry was need of the time to attract the foreign investors from European Union and United States of America. He said mainly these precious stones were explored from almost inaccessible territories of the hilly regions in the south and north as the most extensive ruby deposits in Pakistan were located in the Hunza valley of the Gilgit-Baltistan.
