The Ministry of Commerce, in collaboration with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, successfully concluded the 3rd Pakistan-Africa Trade Development Conference (PATDC) in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday.
Under the ‘Look Africa’ policy, various initiatives have been taken by the Ministry of Commerce to enhance trade relations with African states.
The third PATDC was organized to further enhance Pakistan’s commercial ties with member states of the South African Development Community (SADC).
SADC is a 16-member regional group with a mandate for promoting economic integration. Member countries constituting SADC are Tanzania, Mauritius, Namibia, Eswatini, Botswana, Angola, the Congo, the Union of Comoros, Madagascar, Zambia, Seychelles, South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi.
South Africa, the SADC’s largest economy, is critical to strengthening Pakistan’s commercial and institutional ties with SADC member states and was thus chosen for the third series of the PATDC.
The conference was attended by prominent Pakistani businessmen representing various sectors, including pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, chemicals, tractors/agriculture machinery, cosmetics, IT services, sports goods, food, electronics, and engineering goods.
Business and official delegates from the SADC member states also attended the conference and single-country exhibition.
Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar led a 210-member business delegation along with senior officials from the Ministry of Commerce and TDAP.
During the three-day event, various B2B, G2G, and B2G meetings will take place on the sidelines of the conference and single-country exhibition. The minister, while addressing the conference, stressed that given the concrete opportunities that exist between the two sides, Pakistan-Africa trade could easily be increased manifolds in the coming years.
The conference was also attended by various representatives of the South African government.