Direct flights imperative to give quantum jump to Pak-Spanish bilateral trade: Carlos Aragon

FAISALABAD, Nov 02 (APP): Ambassador of Spain to Pakistan Carlos Aragon said that Pakistan and Spain should seriously concentrate on starting direct flights between the two countries as it is imperative to give a quantum jump to the bilateral trade. Addressing the business community in Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI), he said that the visa processing would be streamlined to ensure visas to the business community without any unnecessary delay on top priority basis. He said that women empowerment, minimizing impacts of climate changes and promotion of circular economy are the top priorities of the Spanish government and there were chances for collaboration with Pakistan in these fields. He said that Spain was making efforts to enhance women empowerment in collaboration with the UN while a UNICEF funded project has been launched in Punjab to equip young girls with training and skills. He was optimistic that its first phase would be completed by the end of the current year while the second phase would be started after its culmination. About the circular economy Mr. Carlos said that Spain has a national level strategy which was introduced 4-5 years ago. He said that we have not any formal agreement with Pakistan in this respect but some Spanish companies are exporting textile recycling machinery to Pakistan. About education, he said that Spanish universities are offering best opportunities to the Pakistani students to groom and grow. He further said that Pakistani alumni of Spanish universities could play a positive role to promote the soft image of its country at the global level. He assured that the Spanish embassy will cooperate to further strengthen the relations between the Pakistani students and Spanish universities. He was optimistic that our bilateral relations could further grow through air connectivity, visa facilitation, women empowerment, circular economy, textile recycling and higher education. We could also help Pakistan for the promotion of the renewable energy sector, he added. Earlier in his welcome address, Mr. Arif Ehsan Malik, President FCCI said that there was huge untapped potential for the promotion of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Spain. He invited Spanish investors to invest in M3 Industrial Estate and said that he was trying to declare Faisalabad as the first circular city of Pakistan as it was consuming 90% textile and 65% of plastic waste. He said that FCCI is an elected platform of the business community of Faisalabad. 'It has 20,000 members and is regarded as the textile engine of Pakistan', he said and thanked Mr. Carlos for giving GSP plus status to Pakistan. He said that most of the exporters are fully complying with the labor, environment laws in addition to fulfilling their other global responsibilities. He said that Pakistan is providing traditional textile products which could be co-branded in collaboration with Spanish counterparts. He appreciated the Spanish expertise in the production of olive oil and said that we could also collaborate in this field for the benefit of the two countries. He floated a proposal for collaboration between Spanish design school and textile university of Faisalabad for the promotion of industrial design, fashion and new innovations. A question-answer session was held which was participated by the Mr. Kashif Zia, Muhammad Faheem, Madam Kanwal Saeed, Dr Muzamil Hussain, Hunain Hamid, Muhammad Umer, Mudassar Amin, Taimoor Tahir, Muhammad Awais, Muhammad Yousaf and Sohail Butt. Later, Senior Vice President FCCI Mian Muhammad Saeed offered vote of thanks while President Arif Ehsan Malik presented FCCI shield to Mr. Carlos Aragon, Ambassador of Spain.