Meeting with Muhammad Saleem, Secretary to the Ministry of foreign affairs of the Government of Pakistan

Tsvetan Simeonov, chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a meeting with Muhammad Saleem, Secretary to the Ministry of foreign affairs of the Government of Pakistan. The meeting was also attended by H.E. Mariam Madiha Aftab, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Bulgaria and the Deputy-head of the Mission Mr. Omer Manzoor Malik.

The visit of Muhammad Saleem in Bulgaria is on the occasion of the consultations the two countries are having at an institutional level. He commented that the meeting is a good possibility to discuss with the BCCI the development of the commercial and economic relations between Bulgaria and Pakistan. Saleem pointed out that his country is famous not only for its production of cotton, textiles, leather products, sports goods, medical products, but also, more recently, with the development of information technologies and IT applications. He put forth the possibility of bringing to Bulgaria highly skilled workers from Pakistan.

Tsvetan Simeonov thanked his guests for the organised meeting and pointed up the good relations the BCCI has with the Embassy of Pakistan in Sofia and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), reliable partners in the management of many events. The chairman of the BCCI agreed with Muhammad Saleem that the businesses from both countries needed more direct connections and less room for mediators, as they make prices of goods go up by 20-30%. With regard to the above mentioned Mr Simeonov talked about the initiative to build a direct railway connection between Sofia and Islamabad, which will shorten the time for delivery, as well as the transportation expenses.

Tsvetan Simeonov presented before his guests the activities of the Chamber, BCCI’s participation in international organizations and its role as coordinator of the Association of the Organizations of Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) for 2023.

The parties discussed more upcoming initiatives with the purpose of activating the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Pakistan.