TEXT: On behalf of the Italian Development Committee-IDC, I send my warmest wishes to the people of Italy as they celebrate their 76th Republic Day.

I am particularly grateful to the Italian Embassy in Islamabad and the Italian Consulate in Karachi for their partnership on trade and investment related initiatives and opportunities between Pakistan and Italy.

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight and inform everyone that IDC has taken an important step by becoming a full member of ASSOCAMERESTERO, which is the main body of association under which all member chambers operate in Italy. In 2019, we announced that we had obtained observer status. Over the past difficult years, we have continued our engagement with our regional counterparts. Even though our activities here were limited, despite our constant interaction on the forum and the support of our regional president and our central office in Rome, we have achieved this status.

This paves the way for new changes and developments both in our operations in Pakistan and new opportunities for our members as we will now be able to access the global network and provide opportunities with our Italian counterparts around the world through our network. of rooms.

Here, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Italian Embassy in Islamabad, the Italian Consulate in Karachi, the Central Executive Committee and the members of IDC for their continuous support and trust in me, this which has allowed us to achieve this global acceptance and recognition. .

The past few years have seen major global changes in the way we do business around the world. Italy was no different with the changes. However, the Italian people have once again proven their resilience in the face of the challenges posed by the pandemic and the current changes that are the direct consequence of the conflict at the borders of the EU.

These two events of global proportions led to a change in the business environment in Italy and the rest of the world. Times remain uncertain with rising inflation and higher cost of raw materials and cost of doing business.

During the year, IDC had the opportunity to host delegates from Italian development cooperation, creating engagement with Karachi’s social and business communities. We actively participated in Italian Food Week with strong representation from our members, held a seminar to engage the agricultural sector in Sindh province and highlighted the use of efficient technologies through our member CNHI .

Italy continues to show its prowess and industrial strength by maintaining its GDP growth above 4% for the current year.

With the reopening of Italy, we see new opportunities in these difficult times. Trade relations between Italy and Pakistan have grown phenomenally and we have seen a new peak in bilateral trade volume over the past year. The Pakistani-Italian community also plays an important role in economic activity in Italy and as a result, we have seen a significant increase in remittances from Pakistani expatriates living in Italy.

This year we are witnessing the continuation of business by engaging delegations from both sides in various sectors, in line with our philosophy of complementing Italian craftsmanship with Pakistani entrepreneurship.

During my recent visit to Italy in May 2022, I held meetings with counterparts to strategize for the activities that will begin soon.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022