Recently a high-profile Nigerian delegation met with All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) members and representatives of business community here in Lahore. Nigerian delegation was including Nigerian Senator who was also a former governor of Sokoto state of Nigeria -Dr. Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, Ambassador for Nigeria in Pakistan H.E Mr. Oyodele, former Ambassador of Nigeria for Pakistan H.E Mr. Dauda Danladi and other ten members from high profile business community of Nigeria. While President APBF –Mr. Ibrahim Qureshi along with the General Secretary APBF and senior board members of the forum joined the meeting. Members of local business community of Pakistan, government officials, representatives of media and academia also witnessed the occasion.
Agenda of the meeting was to identify and enter into the opportunities of common interests and mutual benefits. APBF President -Mr. Ibrahim Qureshi had also inked an MOU in the August the same year. However this meeting was deeply focusing on trade and business ventures between Nigeria and Pakistan. President APBF –Mr. Ibrahim Qureshi said, “ In Pakistan private sector is a driving force for the trade and business and we hereby this meeting and of course in future will encourage our Nigerian brother to come forward and join hands with us so that we can collectively build a better future for the two countries.” Mr. Qureshi also threw light on the areas of possible future collaborations between Pakistan and Nigeria. He said that there is a large spectrum for Nigeria to gain from Pakistan in agribusiness, meet and dairies, IT & Technology, services sector, paints and chemicals, tourism and even education. While on the other he said Pakistan can be benefited from the oil and gas resources of Nigeria. Most importantly Mr. Ibrahim Qureshi stressed the need of better trade relation among the Muslim states of the world.
Nigerian Senator, Dr. Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko said, “We truly appreciate the efforts by the APBF and especially President APBF -Mr. Ibrahim Qureshi for their efforts to keep both the countries engaged for identifying the future collaboration opportunities between the two nations.” He also said, “Pakistan and Nigeria have many things in common and this same frequency must be translated in better relations and high level engagement in terms of trade, business agriculture and education.”Nigerian Senator expressed his profound interest in the agricultural sector of Pakistan and he said that Pakistan has advanced in terms of technology and agricultural practices and there is a large room for Nigeria to learn from Pakistan in this regard. He also highlighted the natural resources of Nigeria that can help Pakistan to cater its needs of energy resources.
Nigerian acting ambassador to Pakistan H.E Mr. Oyodele also applauded the efforts of Pakistani business community and he said, “Nigeria is reshaping its policies after the government of Mr. Muhammadu Buhari came into the office. And Pakistan is very vital for us in this regard for strengthening our relations around the common grounds of trade and business.” He also said that Mr. Qureshi is very effectively succeeded in bring Nigerian delegation in the interaction with reputed business community of Pakistan that will certainly bear fruit in near future. H.E Mr. Oyodele invited representatives of Pakistani business community to visit Nigeria to further consolidate the agenda of mutual collaborations.
Participants of the meeting from the both countries exchanged their views and seriously addressed the options for mutual beneficial collaboration. Nigerian delegation impressed with the capacity of APBF as forum and its decorated and reputed members. At the end of the meeting both the delegates agreed on number of areas to work jointly in Nigeria as well as in Pakistan. Mr. Ibrahim Qureshi as the recognition of building business relationships between Pakistan and Nigeria presented mementos to the Nigerian Senator, Ambassador of Nigeria and former Ambassador of Nigeria.
All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) is a vibrant business association, with over 2000 member from the highly reputed business community, former ambassadors and diplomats, business analysts and researchers from all around Pakistan, which promotes and protects the interests of the business community and industry. APBF is intended to realize a prosperous and profoundly economically strong Pakistan. It has strong insight of national and foreign policy shaping and advising. Subsequently, it also suggests and advises the Government sector, regarding policy formulation, regulatory realignments and implementation in the commercial and industrial sectors of the economy. APBF has been consistently playing a positive role in elevation of standards and facilitation of business activity in Pakistan. APBF as a representative of Pakistani business community has a decorated reputation in the foreign business spheres, both at regional and international level.
