Commonwealth Chamber strengthens links with Pakistan
Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce is continuing to promote trade links between the UK and Pakistan.
After welcoming a number of trade delegations from Rawalpindi over the past few years - organised by that city 's own chamber - the Commonwealth Chamber has attended a business summit in Pakistan.
The three-day international chambers summit was attended by 54 Pakistani chambers, and was organised by the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI). The event took place at the end of January in Islamabad.
The Commonwealth Chamber - represented by president, Joel Blake - was invited to address the summit to outline the business opportunities available in the West Midlands region.
Birmingham Chamber has been at the forefront to development business links with the South Asian country, which is the fifth most populous in the world.
In 2017, at a Pakistan UK Trade Conference, Birmingham Chamber signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Rawalpindi Chamber, which was designed to build future collaboration between the two organisations.
Pakistan is the 33rd largest country in the world and has a population exceeding 200 million people.
It is also has the 66th largest export economy. Major trading items include textiles, pharmaceuticals and surgical equipment, ICT and leather.
The UK, United States, China, Germany and Afghanistan are among Pakistan 's top export destinations, with major exports including house linens, rice, non-retail pure cotton yarn, non-knit men 's suits and heavy pure woven cotton.
The country has been moving from a primarily agrarian economy to one with a strong service base - the former only represents a fifth of Pakistan 's gross domestic product these days.
The international summit is a key event for the country 's business community, and in 2019 it was attended by Pakistan president and former cricket star Imran Khan.
This year 's event also featured a 'women 's convention ', designed to highlight the growing importance of businesswomen to the country 's business community.
The convention was the fourth of its kind, and has coincided with moves by the Pakistani government to put in place various initiatives to empower women in business.
RCCI said: “RCCI is one of the leading chambers of the country and has successfully organised several national as well as international conferences and exhibitions around the world, with an aim in building healthier ties with different parts of the world.
“This is an exclusive event where all the chambers of Pakistan are present under the same roof. ”
Joel Blake (pictured) said of his visit to the event: "The impact of Brexit, alongside wider global challenges provides us all with the empowering opportunity to embrace these challenges together, as a global business community.
“As the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce, we are proud to partner with RCCI bringing together inclusive leaders to explore new and innovative ways to inform policy and develop forward-thinking support at the highest levels, in order to accelerate the recovery and growth of all the businesses that we support. ”