Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar pitches Pakistan as investment hub in London

• Minister says Pakistan is a land of opportunities and open to global investors.
• He stresses particular opportunities within growing IT, renewable energy sectors.
• He discusses investment and modernisation within agriculture sector.

LONDON: In a bid to attract investment, Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar has said that Pakistan is ripe for investors, adding that it is the last major untapped country in the world offering a young and growing population of digitally savvy consumers.

The federal minister was speaking to a group of private investors at London’s Amaya restaurant in Belgravia. 

The minister made the stopover in UK while travelling back from Germany. He will leave for Turkey from the UK and join Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation.

The invertors that met the minister included Zeeshaan Shah, Assad Sheikh and representatives of private equity firms including Delancey, Lazard, Hinduja Investments, Europe Arab Bank and Reditum Capital.

Addressing the investors, the minister said Pakistan was a land of opportunities and open to global investors. 

Pakistan is ripe for investment and is the last major untapped country in the world offering a young and growing population of digitally-savvy consumers, he told the meeting.

The minister stressed on particular opportunities within the growing information technology and renewable energy sectors and discussed investment and modernisation within the agriculture sector where Pakistan had the potential through advanced modern farming technologies to become a leading exporter of agricultural produce. 

Commenting on the evening real estate developer Zeeshaan Shah said: “Mr Naveed Qamar Shah is a seasoned statesman and engaged with both the overseas Pakistani and British investors in a way that gave them confidence."

Shah welcomed the "outreach" by the Pakistani ministers in a city like London which is the financial capital of the world. 

"Pakistan needs to have a presence and this type of engagement sows seeds that will bear fruit in years to come. It’s important this is kept up,” said the businessman.  

Other attendees noted that the minister had a robust understanding of the business landscape both as an intellect and statesman.