German Ambassador to Pakistan Ms Ina Lepel hoped on Tuesday that Pakistan and Germany would open new avenues for investment, technological cooperation, skills development and sustainable growth.
Addressing the executive committee members of Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) here, the envoy expressed interest in expanding engagement with the private sector, particularly through the German-Pakistani Business Forum, and bridging the gap between SMEs in the two countries. She underscored the need for stronger institutional connections to facilitate business cooperation and investment.
She also highlighted the growing number of Pakistani students pursuing higher education in Germany, saying their numbers had increased from approximately 6,000 to nearly 13,000 over the past decade.
Emphasizing cooperation in technical and vocational education and training (T-VET), she said efforts were under way to align government-run training facilities with actual industrial requirements, helping develop a skilled workforce suited to modern industry.
The German envoy acknowledged concerns over visa-processing delays, explaining that applications normally took six to eight weeks but could require up to 10 weeks during busy trade-fair seasons due to heavy workloads. She advised business travellers to submit their applications well in advance.
She also admitted that visa processing and support for trade delegations remained areas where improvements could be made. However, she clarified that matters such as hotel concessions and local taxation generally fell within the domain of private enterprises and local authorities rather than the embassy.—APP