High Commissioner of Pakistan Babar Amin has invited Australian companies to invest in Pakistan’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and establish a Hi-Tech Park within the SEZs.
He was talking to Mike Lawson, Deputy Secretary and Dr. Gino Grassia, General Manager, International Branch at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DII&S) on Friday.
“Pakistan was offering opportunities for processing of rare metals like lithium, cobalt and nickel from Australia, which could be re-exported after value addition”, he said.
The High Commissioner informed about the proposed Pakistan Minerals and Mining Road Show in Australia in the near future. He also invited Australian Venture Capital to invest in Innovation and Scientific research in Pakistan.
He highlighted that the Government of Pakistan was focused on enhancing collaboration in Industrial Innovation and Science with friendly countries like Australia for developing a robust and vibrant brain economy in the country.
The High Commissioner briefed the DII&S’ Senior Officials on his discussions with various Australian stakeholders such as the DFAT, Department of Health, Department of Environment & Energy, CSIRO, ACIAR, TAFE etc for development of a bilateral Cooperation Framework to increase collaboration in science, technology, education and skills development sectors.
He also evinced interest in becoming part of Australian Innovation Linkages Programme.
The High Commissioner drew attention towards the opportunities available for Australian businesses to setup food processing industry in Pakistan.
Mr. Mike Lawson appreciated the existing scientific collaboration between Australia and Pakistan and acknowledged the need for its enhancement.
He mentioned that the joint researches, which were carried out by scholars of the two countries, were being cited in various scientific journals.
He further emphasized that the Department of Industry and Innovation would like to see increased engagement with Pakistani stakeholders for benefiting the two countries.
