Sharjah Chamber of Commerce launches Pakistan Business Council

ISLAMABAD: The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has launched the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to enhance collaboration between businesses in the Gulf state and Pakistan, state media reported on Wednesday.
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States. Policymakers in Pakistan consider the Emirates an optimal export destination due to geographical proximity, which minimizes transportation and freight costs while facilitating commercial transactions. The UAE is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates and the second-largest source of remittances to the South Asian country after Saudi Arabia.
“The SCCI has officially launched the PBS in Sharjah aimed at expanding economic cooperation between the business communities of the Emirates and Pakistan,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said on Wednesday. 
SCCI Chairman Abdullah Sultan Al Owais said the launch of PBS in Sharjah marked a “significant new addition” to the network of business councils operating under the Sharjah Chamber.
“These councils offer ideal platforms for companies to connect, collaborate, and form win-win partnerships that benefit everyone involved,” he said.
The new council, according to the SCCI chairman, was a key part of SCCI’s strategy to expand the number of business councils and use them to increase economic collaboration and foster cross-border partnerships.
The value of non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and Pakistan reached AED 25.7 billion in 2022, marking a 30 percent increase compared to AED 19.8 billion in 2021, Al Owais said.
“Additionally, the UAE is stepping up with a $10 billion investment in Pakistan’s key economic sectors,” APP quoted the chairman as saying.