Islamabad - President Mamnoon Hussain has said that Switzerland is a friend and an important trade and investment partner of Pakistan.
Talking to the outgoing Ambassador of Switzerland Marc Pierre George who paid farewell call on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Friday, President said Pakistan greatly values its relations with Switzerland, which are based on mutual trust, amity and cooperation.
The president said that Pakistan looks forward to an enhanced partnership with Switzerland in diverse areas especially trade and investment.
He underlined that Switzerland stood among the top five foreign investors in Pakistan during 2015-16.
He added that the growing investments of Swiss multinational companies help in reinforcing bilateral ties and speak of their confidence in Pakistan.
The President pointed out that current bilateral trade volume of around US$ 400 million per annum do not commensurate with the true potential and needs to be increased.
The president appreciated the work undertaken by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) focusing on drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, support for displaced persons in the areas worst affected by terrorism and natural calamities.
The President also commended the Swiss Government’s “Excellence Scholarship Programme” and hoped that this cooperation would further grow and more students from Pakistan would be able to benefit from Swiss educational and poly-technical institutions.
The President called for establishing linkages between the educational institutions of both the countries to benefit from each other’s expertise.
On the occasion, President also congratulated the outgoing Ambassador on successful completion of his assignment and wished him good health and a successful career ahead.
our staff reporter
