Denmark working vigorously to strengthen bilateral trade ties with Pakistan

Ambassador of Denmark, Jesper Mollar Sorensen addressing a dinner hosted in his honour by Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) said that many Danish companies have completed their home work and are expected to establish their offices in Pakistan following visible improvement in governance and law and order situation.

Mr Jasper Molar said that Denmark is a small country with a population of only 5.1 million, however in view of the economic importance of Pakistan a commercial section was created in its embassy in Islamabad. It is now working vigorously to strength bilateral trade ties between the two countries, he added.

Pakistan is presenting facing a daunting challenge of energy crises. Just four years ago Denmark was also dependent on others for its energy needs however they worked hard and now they are fully self-reliant and are also exporting surplus electricity to the neighbouring countries.

Danish ambassador said that today Denmark is producing 40% of electricity from renewable energy resources including solar, wind, solid waste and biomass etc he said that Pakistan is blessed with unlimited wind and solar resources. Sindh has potential to produce 15000 megawatt of electricity from wind turbines; he said and added that four areas in Punjab have also been identified to produce 1000 Megawatt of electricity from wind.

Jesper also underlining the importance of agriculture said that Pakistan and Denmark could launch joint ventures in this fields for the benefit of the two countries. He told that a Danish delegation will soon visit Pakistan to discuss feasible projects in addition to exploring the possibilities of cooperation with Pakistani counterparts.

Commenting on GSP-Plus status for Pakistan, he said that it has played a positive role in enhancing Pakistani exports to EU countries up to the tune of 20 Percent during 2014. He also appreciated of the performance of Pakistani experts in IT section and told that and IT delegation from Pakistan will also visit Denmark in 2016 to increase export of IT related software to that country.

He said that Danish companies are known for their expertise in water treatment, he was convincing these companies to come to Pakistan and help Pakistan in addition to promoting their own business. However, the major bottleneck in this regard is negative perception of Pakistan. He said that his 70-80% time in Denmark is consumed while explaining to the Danish businessmen that Faisalabad and other parts of Pakistan are safe for businesses excluding FATA, KPK and Baluchistan. He said that he will also encourage a delegation of textile exporters from Pakistan to visit Denmark in near future. He also disclosed that a study was being conducted for the treatment of industrial and domestic water effluent. It will help local industry to fulfil its environment related international obligations in addition to offering new opportunities to Danish companies to do business with Pakistan.

Earlier, in his address of welcome, Muhammad Amjad Khawaja of PHMA said that he was very much impressed by the dynamism and positive approach of Jesper Mollar Sorensen who conducted series of seminars and meetings to identify the untapped potential of Pakistan in different segments of economy. He also congratulated Jesper on his new assignment as director political affairs at Copenhagen and hoped that he will continue his efforts for the promotion of bilateral trade ties between the two countries.