international
trade
Chamber signs two MOUs to boost overseas trade Calling all London-based exporters: are you struggling to get the right support to help you find new overseas markets for your products and services? Then look no further, because your local Chamber of Commerce has struck two agreements to boost international trade in countries that might just be the perfect places for those products and services. The first agreement – or memorandum of understanding (MoU), to give it its proper name – is with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in Pakistan. The idea is to increase cooperation and improve trade and economic activities between Pakistan and the UK. On a more practical level, the aim is to increase trade and investment opportunities for members of LCCI and Hounslow Chamber. LCCI president Mian Tariq Misbah and Hounslow Chamber chairman Christopher Durkin signed the MoU, witnessed by the Pakistan High Commission and DIT Lahore, which is designed to build on healthy levels of trade already seen between the two countries. In 2020, the bilateral trade volume of goods traded between the UK and Pakistan stood at $2.34 billion. Pakistan’s exports to the UK were around $1.73 billion, while the UK sent an estimated $611 million of goods and services to Pakistan. Locally, there’s also a lot of history between Hounslow and Lahore, as Alan Rides, managing director of Hounslow Chamber, explains:
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“Hounslow has had a twin-town agreement with Lahore for quite a few years. For various reasons, this relationship has been rather inactive for some time so this agreement is a good way of revitalising this relationship. There’s also a significant number of people from Lahore and other areas of Pakistan within the Hounslow and wider west London community. “The MoU will help facilitate quicker trade between the two countries and we’ll have closer and better links between Lahore and Hounslow. There are many synergies between both business communities in areas such as environmental trade, manufacturing, renewable energy and pharmaceuticals. “If Lahore companies need products and services in these areas, we can put them in touch with companies here. For example, I understand that Lahore firms require products such as air flow, landfill incineration and water purification equipment as Pakistan looks to make its economy more environmentally friendly. We’re alerting relevant companies in Hounslow to this
