Dr. Michael Koch, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Ladies and Gentlemen,

members and friends of the Pakistan German Business Forum,for decades Germany and Pakistan have had close economic ties: Pakistan is exporting pharmaceutical instruments, textiles and agricultural products to Germany and is importing maschinery and chemical products. Mayor German companies. are operating successfully on the Pakistani market.

Our bilateral trade volume in the year 2007 reached 1.5 billion Euro and made Germany the most important trade partner of Pakistan in the EU.

But all those who are familiar with the economic potential of our two countries know that there is ample room for improvement!

The Pakistan German Business Forum (PGBF) is a well established institution which has significantly contributed to the building of bridges between our two countries in the economic field – and beyond. The current global economic environment may make this task more difficult – but it also provides opportunities which should be explored.

The German Embassy in Islamabad, the Consulate General in Karachi and the German Honorary Consul in Lahore will be reliable partners of PGBF in the future – as they have been in the past! Let us jointly face the new challenges ahead and bring our countries even closer together for the benefit of both our peoples!

Dr. Michael Koch
Ambassador