Mr Sharma spent two days visiting Islamabad and Karachi to meet
government officials and businesses to reiterate the UK’s
commitment to building further trade between the UK and Pakistan.
The trip builds on the Foreign Secretary’s visit to the country
in November 2016 where he urged greater trade cooperation.
In Islamabad, Mr Sharma held talks with Foreign Policy Chief
Sartaj Aziz; Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan; and Minister
for Planning Ahsan Iqbal. He also held talks with the Chairman of
the Parliamentary Committee on China Pakistan Economic Corridor
Mushahid Hussain Syed and on human rights with Barrister
Zafarullah Khan and the Human Rights Minister Kamran Michael.
In Karachi, Mr Sharma met the Chief Minister of Sindh, Murad Ali
Shah, as well as Pakistani business leaders and British
businesses, including GlaxoSmithKline, Standard Chartered Bank,
retailer Team A Ventures, TCS Courier Service and members of the
Pakistan Business Council to discuss how the UK Government can
help improve trade possibilities between the two countries. He
also met the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and visited
the Pakistan Stock Exchange where he rang the bell to close the
day’s trading.
Following the visit, Mr Sharma said:
As we approach the 70th Anniversary of Pakistan’s independence,
I am delighted to have experienced first-hand the old
friendship the UK shares with Pakistan.
With our historic ties and strong economies the potential for
our two countries to do business together is immense. I held
productive talks with senior members of the Government and
business leaders and discussed how we can collectively do more
to unlock these exciting opportunities and increase bilateral
trade and investment.
