KARACHI: Oman has shown interest in importing textile products and skilled workforce from Pakistan, a statement said on Friday.
“Oman is interested in importing more of textile products, meat and livestock; fruits and vegetable; surgical goods and skilled and semi-skilled workforce from Pakistan,” Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) chairman Redha Al-Saleh, who led a delegation during a visit to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Friday.
He said that the vibrant and fast-developing IT sector of Pakistan is another area of cooperation, investments and joint ventures between Pakistan and Oman.
The rules and regulations in Oman have been relaxed to encourage foreign investment, and entrepreneurs can register their businesses in Oman within 48 hours now, he added.
Foreigners do not need to have a mandatory ownership of an Omani national to start their business in Oman like before and taxes are on a lower side in Oman as compared to many competing markets, Al-Saleh added.
He also apprised the audience of Oman’s Vision 2040 and the measures being taken to make Oman a business-friendly destination, adding that there is a world-class direct road being built between Oman and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to further strengthen economic, commercial and tourism linkages with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and beyond.
FPCCI president Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo said that the bilateral trade between the two brotherly countries can be increased multifold, if the right sectors are targeted and visa procedures of Oman are transformed into a more welcoming, swift and facilitative regime for Pakistani traders.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Oman, Ahsan Wagan said that there are 260,000 Pakistani nationals currently living and working in Oman. They are contributing in all fields; be it medical services, construction sector, industries, banking, IT services or semi-skilled jobs, he added.
He expressed satisfaction over Pakistanis working in Oman, which are the third largest contributors of foreign exchange and remittances to Pakistan from the Gulf and the Middle East region after Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as they send approximately $1 billion/annum to Pakistan.
