Pakistan's Minister of Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said that cooperation between the two nations in the field of defence related equipment is increasing on a continued pace and the two sides will also explore possibilities of joint ventures.
"During my visit I have had some useful interaction with defence-related South African companies as well as with the Department of Defence. I am confident that bilateral defence relations will grow with a steady pace in the years to come," Hussain said, addressing a seminar here on economic and trade prospects between the two nations.
Hussain said that Pakistan is interested in South Africa's expertise in mining, coal gasification and coal-to-liquid fuel technology and high-end industrial production and value addition in commodities, especially metals.
"On the other hand, Pakistan provides excellent incentives for Foreign Direct Investment and would be happy to facilitate South African investors to explore the Pakistani market. Pakistan, because of its strategic location can, in addition to the 200 million strong Pakistani market, also provide openings in Central Asia and South-West Asia," the Minister said.
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He said Pakistan has a large resource of skilled and semi-skilled workforce and would be happy to fill the skills gap in South Africa through the government sector, till such time that the indigenous work-force is trained and equipped to take over.
Earlier, Qamar Zaman, Commercial Secretary at the Pakistan High Commission, told the seminar that although South Africa is Pakistan's largest export market, it only accounted for a single per cent of Pakistan's exports with a further one per cent going to the rest of the African continent.
Zaman said the high duties in the Southern African Customs Union for textiles and leather hampered growth in exports from Pakistan, but the 0 per cent duties on cement and rice had allowed for inroads in those sectors.