The recent agreement between the Port of Constanta and the Port of Karachi creates a lasting framework for facilitating trade between Asia and Europe, Secretary General of Romania's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIR) Ovidiu Silaghi said on Tuesday.

'Romanian-Pakistani economic relations are stable and steadily growing. Pakistani workers in Romania are already very well integrated, and their skills are put to use not only in deliveries or passenger transport, but also in factories in the agri-food and furniture industries and even in shipbuilding. They are laying the foundations of a bridge between our countries, and step by step this bridge will become increasingly solid. An important signal in this regard is the recent agreement between the Port of Constanta and the Port of Karachi, which creates a lasting framework for facilitating trade between Asia and Europe. B2B meetings are always the first step towards doing business, and CCIR and the county chambers of commerce and industry support these initiatives, as well as Pakistani companies choosing Romania,' Silaghi said, according to a CCIR statement.

In his turn, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Romania Ilyas Mehmood Nizami identified clean energy, infrastructure, IT, education and the defence industry as areas of cooperation between the two countries. He also referred to industrial cooperation between Romania and Pakistan, including the refinery built in Karachi with Romanian support.

'With a population of more than 240 million, Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country in the world and offers a huge market, with significant import and export opportunities, for any businessperson. The Government of Pakistan is ready to welcome and support Romanian investors, and my team at the Embassy and I are committed to facilitating links between the business communities of the two countries,' the ambassador said.

Atif Farooqi, Romania's honorary consul designate Sindh province, highlighted the complementarity of the two economies.

'Romania offers Pakistan direct access to the European Union, while Pakistan offers Romanian companies a large and dynamic market, a strategic position and opportunities in trade, investment, technology, agriculture, logistics, education and joint ventures. We now need to turn this potential into real partnerships, real investment and concrete business projects,' Farooqi said.

The statements were made at the Romania - Pakistan Business Forum, organised on Tuesday by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania in partnership with the Pakistan-Romania Business Council (PRBC) and the Embassy of Romania to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

The event was held on the sidelines of the Pakistani business mission to Romania, led by Atif Farooqi, and brought together Pakistani companies operating in fields including artificial intelligence, mining, logistics, maritime transport, port management, textiles and agritech, alongside Romanian companies, authorities and universities. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Nicoleta Banciulea;EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)