Australian High Commission
Islamabad
Pakistan

Australian High Commissioner launches website of the Pakistan-Australia Business Forum in Lahore

AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION
ISLAMABAD
 

26 May 2011

Business News

Australian High Commissioner launches website of the Pakistan-Australia Business Forum in Lahore

Australia’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Tim George and Australia’s Senior Trade Commissioner to South Asia, Mr Peter Linford hosted a business function to launch the website of the Pakistan-Australia Business Forum at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore on 26 May.

The High Commissioner had supported the revival of the PABF in Karachi in May 2010. He recognised the work of the PABF’s Chairman Pervez Madraswala and other members of its executive committee in helping to expand the PABF’s membership base since then. Mr George said the website, www.pabf.com.pk, would help the PABF to reach out to new members and would highlight the potential which exists for trade and investment between Australia and Pakistan.

The High Commissioner said he had taken a personal interest in building trade links as part of a strong bilateral relationship. According to Mr George, the two-way trade relationship, which grew by 16 per cent last year to Rs 67 billion, shows excellent potential to grow even further.

He said ‘the bottom line is this – the more trade we can build between our countries, the greater will be the economic impact and the more jobs we will create in Australia and in Pakistan.’

He also spoke about how economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region and the liberalisation of trade and investment helped to unleash the full potential of the Australian economy. Although these reforms were not easy, the average Australian family was much better off as a result.

As part of Australia’s long term commitment to Pakistan, as reflected in an increased level of bilateral engagement across the board in recent years, the High Commissioner said that Australia stood ready to play a supportive role in helping Pakistan to meet its current challenges, including on economic reform.

During the reception, Australia’s Honorary Consul in Lahore and Chairman and CEO of Netsol, Mr Salim Ghauri spoke about Australia’s relations with Pakistan and the benefits of increased bilateral trade.

 

Contact: Jon Bonnar, +92 51 835 5346