Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 14
By Gulgiz Muradova - Trend:
Pakistan exports a lot of goods to the Azerbaijani market, but the country can offer more, Saeed Khan Mohmand, the Pakistani Ambassador to Baku, said in an interview with Trend.
Mohmand said that his country's export to Azerbaijan mainly includes rise, textile and agriculture products, including potatoes, citrus fruits and tomato.
"I thinks there is a tremendous potential to increase textile export to Azerbaijan, as tourism sector of the country is growing. With the rising tourism, the demand for cotton, fabric, towel and such kind of things will increase," he said.
The envoy reminded that textile is actually Pakistan’s biggest industry, export of which is around $19 billion.
"Azerbaijan can defiantly use this opportunity," he noted.
Mohmand went on to say that Pakistan is the leader in the manufacture of the sporting goods, reminding that the FIFA World Cup balls were made by Pakistan.
"Pakistan is a sport loving nation and the country has a tremendous experience and potential in production of sporting goods. We have a city in Pakistan, which is well known all over the world for making sporting goods. Sports balls, including for football, volleyball and basketball, come from the city of Sialkot in Pakistan, which is a global centre for sport ball production. This is such a rich city that here every house is an industry. The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce constructed an airport in the city," the envoy said.
Mohmand mentioned that the city is also well-known for production of surgical instruments and leather goods.
"So, I think there is a tremendous potential for exporting more to Azerbaijan, especially sporting goods and surgical instruments," he said, adding that Pakistan can also export machine spare parts.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Pakistan amounted to $17.5 million in January-June 2017, more than $16 million of which accounting for the import of Pakistani products, according to Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee.
