The Norwegian Embassy and the Oslo Chamber of Commerce jointly organized a virtual meeting titled ‘Trade and Investment opportunities between Pakistan and Norway’ on 8 June 2022. The webinar provided an unprecedented platform to initiate interface between Oslo Chamber of Commerce, businesses, investment companies and IT experts from Norway with trade innovation and investment stakeholders in Pakistan. Over 50 participants representing business professionals & potential investors from the tech industry participated. The meeting was moderated by Mr. Ghulam Mustafa, Commercial Counsellor.
The guest speakers and notable participants included Ms. Astri S. Platou, External Affairs Director, Oslo Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, President Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI); Mrs. Fareena Mazhar, Secretary, Board of Investment (BOI); Mr. Athar Hussain Khokhar, Director General Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP); Mr. Amer Ahmed Hashmi, Chairman, Special Technology Zone Authority (STZA), Mr. Javed Iqbal, Chief Commercial Officer, STZA; Mr. Zeeshan Rehman Khattak from Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB); Mr. Ishtiaq from Sarhad Chamber of Commerce; Ms. Mehreen from FPCCI Karachi Chapter; Mr. Asim Tiwana from TDAP Karachi Chapter and representatives of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce.
The meeting aimed to create opportunities for the business communities of both countries, encourage dialogue on prospects for increasing bilateral trade and investment flows, develop linkages between the public and private sector stakeholders, and introduce new business and investment opportunities that can lead to the entrepreneurial collaboration between Pakistan and Norway.
Mr. Amer Ahmed Hashmi, Chairman, Special Technology Zone Authority (STZA) gave an overview about the development of Special Technology Zones (STZs) across Pakistan, which offers special incentive to attract investors, builders and technology companies to partner with the government and also to provide one-window facilitation to local and international companies, also from Norway in the STZs. He also apprised about the new Act of Parliament passed in October last year to support the tech authority, to enable conducive knowledge-based ecosystem, startups, innovation and R&Ds centers in the country.
Mr. Javed Iqbal, Chief Commercial Officer, Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) gave a detailed presentation on the contours of the Act of Parliament to support tech industry and briefed on the incentives offered to ensure investment-friendly environment in the country.
