The apex trade body of Pakistan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry to establish a joint business council to promote trade, investments, joint ventures, and economic cooperation between the two countries, a statement said on Tuesday. The signing ceremony saw the participation of Commerce Minister of Fiji, Pakistani High Commissioner in Australia and Fiji, president of Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and others, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) stated. Fiji is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan High Commissioner Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, lauded the establishment of the joint business council and called it “a historic moment in Pakistan and Fiji economic relations” as it is the first-ever agreement of its kind between the two countries. Faiyaz Siddiq Koya, Fiji’s minster for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport, maintained that people-to-people and business-to-business contacts could play an instrumental role in mutually-beneficial trade and economic cooperation.
He emphasised that Fiji was an attractive investment destination as it had consistent economic policies. “Fiji is also a flourishing outsourcing market for the pacific region,” he added. Nur Bano Ali, president of Fiji Chamber of Commerce & Industry, welcomed the appointment of Saud Minam, who has also served as the CEO of Fiji Development Bank as the first chairman of the joint business council. FPCCI president Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said there was an enormous untapped potential to export various Pakistani goods and services to Fiji such as value-added textiles, IT services, food products, surgical instruments, sports goods, and construction materials.