Italian Ambassadors remarks on why is Italy wooing Pakistan

[313ghazi]

NOTE: It seems like my title caused some confusion. The below article is written in Dawn and quotes the Italian ambassador on what they are interested in wrt Pakistan. I have highlighted key bits.

==============

“I had great expectations but Pakistan is always more than what I expect,” said the Italian ambassador Andreas Ferrarese in a recent meeting at Dawn’s office. Amid the usual flowery words of Pakistan being a country with great traditions and a young population with positive energy, the ambassador expressed interest in deepening ties between the two countries.

At $1.5 billion, Pakistan-Italy trade is a below its potential. “I was in Lebanon and with its population of four million people, trade was $1.2bn. So there is a lot of room for bilateral trade to grow.”

Pakistan’s main exports are of textile, leather, rice and ethanol. They stood at $731m in the last fiscal year. Imports were $521m. They were mostly of machinery, petroleum products, vehicles, iron and steel and pharmaceuticals.


“We have a community of 200,000 Pakistanis in Italy. About 140,000 are documented and 60,000 are being documented,” said the ambassador. With families back at home, Pakistanis in Italy sent remittances of $452.8m in 2020, accounting for a fifth of inflows from the European Union, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

So why is Italy with an economy roughly seven times of Pakistan wooing us? The answer lies in Pakistan’s potential to modernise its industry, particularly the textile sector, great scope for green energy, big and growing consumer market and its cadre of the wealthy.

Two-way tourism

Speaking from his experience as the person who used to write the official travel advisory of Italy, he spoke of the ways Pakistan can attract tourists.


“Pakistan is not for the middle man. Keeping in mind certain behaviours that may offend local sensibilities, we do not pose major limits for Italians wanting to travel here,” he said. Italians have extreme tourists such as those wanting to climb the Himalayas. Outlining how the middle class can be attracted, the ambassador spoke of the need for infrastructure.

“People want a comfortable hotel in a scenic spot with English speaking staff and transport available to buy your Pashmina shawls. Even those who are not very rich can then come.”

But it is not a one-way street.

Italy wants to attract rich Pakistanis who spend their summers abroad as well.


“You have 30m people that are rich,” he said, speaking about the competition among European countries that vie for Pakistani tourists — leisure as well as health. Well-off people go to foreign hospitals. “Why should someone go to London for an operation and not Milano,” he queried.

“About 5,000-6,000 Pakistani tourists visit Italy every year. Most go to other countries and that is not positive for us.”

The student outflow

Given that about 30,000-35,000 students go abroad to study every six months, countries are interested in attracting students from Pakistan. Until recent times, Italian universities taught in the national language, which was a bottleneck.

But now more courses are being offered in English. Italy offers good public-sector universities that cost roughly as much as a degree from the Lahore University of Management Sciences or the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture.

However, Italy is still working on developing an infrastructure to process large volumes of students coming in. Sifting through actual students and those using education as a ploy to find a way into the country to settle and flip pizzas is an arduous labour-intensive task, the ambassador explained. While a foreign student is allowed to work 18 hours a week, they are not allowed to enter the job market on a student visa.

An image problem

In the ambassador’s view, Pakistan’s real problem is its image. “Italy has the mafia but it is not like if you went into a restaurant someone will shoot you. The mafia is 20,000 people while the rest of 60m people are normal”.

Positive messages would strengthen your image, he explained. “There are more dangerous countries that I have worked in but their image is an exotic one."

Nor is the salary difference as marked as one would assume. “Twenty years ago, the salary in Pakistan was 10pc of the Italian salary — now it is 45pc,” said the ambassador, much to our surprise. “If you want a quality worker, you have to pay. At the same level of skills, the salary is not so much different.” Add to that the fact more people speak English here than in, say, Vietnam, he added.

Importing Italian machinery

“When people think of Italy, they think of fashion. But our main voice in exports is robotics and machinery — all the textiles in China are made with our looms,” said the ambassador. An indicator of Pakistan’s strength in the global textile market, Italy is enticing Pakistani manufacturers to opt for Italian equipment.

In 2019, according to data by Trade Maps, most of the imports were sourced from China and Germany, followed by Japan and India, with Italy ranking fifth. “Our machinery is more expensive, but it is of the highest quality,” explained Mr Ferrarese.

Recently, two technology centres have been established with Italian cooperation — the Italy-Pakistan Footwear Technology Centre in Lahore and the Italy-Pakistan Textile Technology Centre in Faisalabad — for which latest machinery has been donated by Italy.

However, this generosity is prompted by the hope that these donations will spark interest in companies that will then import them from Italy. “Pakistan is the middle-market, not the lower market. You have a taste for quality,” he said. While manufacturers today may be using labour-intensive machinery, newcomers will aim higher and opt for Italian imports,” hoped the ambassador.

Wooing Pakistan

Italian ambassador expresses interest in deepening ties between the two countries.

www.dawn.com

 

[Dalit]

When Western ambassadors in Pakistan talk about broadening trade and economic relations this really needs to be taken with a good pinch of salt.

I am in my late 30s now and I have heard my entire life how Pakistan was supposed to increase trade with certain European nations. It is always the same empty promise. The population is young, the potential is high blah blah. The funny thing is that it is always the ambasadors making such claims.

 

[313ghazi]

When Western ambassadors in Pakistan talk about broadening trade and economic relations this really needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

I am in my late 30s now and I have heard my entire life how Pakistan was supposed to increase trade with certain European nations.

The thing is - what do we make that we can sell in Europe? If you make good products then people will buy them.

They're more than happy to sell stuff to us.

 

[Dalit]

The thing is - what do we make that we can sell in Europe? If you make good products then people will buy them.

They're more than happy to sell stuff to us.

You are right, but I have also been very critical of our side. We lack many things and one of them is seriousness. Having potential is not enough. You also need to transform the potential into something useful.

Having said that, there is zero chance of good trading relations with Western nations in general. The Western nations have a very skewed view of Pakistan. That won't change anytime soon.

If I were Pakistan I would invest in regional trade which has a much higher chance of success. We also need to look at other parts of the world including Africa and South America.

 

[Falcon26]

“I had great expectations but Pakistan is always more than what I expect,” said the Italian ambassador Andreas Ferrarese in a recent meeting at Dawn’s office. Amid the usual flowery words of Pakistan being a country with great traditions and a young population with positive energy, the ambassador expressed interest in deepening ties between the two countries.

At $1.5 billion, Pakistan-Italy trade is a below its potential. “I was in Lebanon and with its population of four million people, trade was $1.2bn. So there is a lot of room for bilateral trade to grow.”

Pakistan’s main exports are of textile, leather, rice and ethanol. They stood at $731m in the last fiscal year. Imports were $521m. They were mostly of machinery, petroleum products, vehicles, iron and steel and pharmaceuticals.


“We have a community of 200,000 Pakistanis in Italy. About 140,000 are documented and 60,000 are being documented,” said the ambassador. With families back at home, Pakistanis in Italy sent remittances of $452.8m in 2020, accounting for a fifth of inflows from the European Union, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

So why is Italy with an economy roughly seven times of Pakistan wooing us? The answer lies in Pakistan’s potential to modernise its industry, particularly the textile sector, great scope for green energy, big and growing consumer market and its cadre of the wealthy.

Two-way tourism

Speaking from his experience as the person who used to write the official travel advisory of Italy, he spoke of the ways Pakistan can attract tourists.


“Pakistan is not for the middle man. Keeping in mind certain behaviours that may offend local sensibilities, we do not pose major limits for Italians wanting to travel here,” he said. Italians have extreme tourists such as those wanting to climb the Himalayas. Outlining how the middle class can be attracted, the ambassador spoke of the need for infrastructure.

‘Twenty years ago, the salary in Pakistan was 10pc of the Italian salary — now it is 45pc,’ says Italian ambassador Andreas Ferrarese

“People want a comfortable hotel in a scenic spot with English speaking staff and transport available to buy your Pashmina shawls. Even those who are not very rich can then come.”

But it is not a one-way street.

Italy wants to attract rich Pakistanis who spend their summers abroad as well.


“You have 30m people that are rich,” he said, speaking about the competition among European countries that vie for Pakistani tourists — leisure as well as health. Well-off people go to foreign hospitals. “Why should someone go to London for an operation and not Milano,” he queried.

“About 5,000-6,000 Pakistani tourists visit Italy every year. Most go to other countries and that is not positive for us.”

The student outflow

Given that about 30,000-35,000 students go abroad to study every six months, countries are interested in attracting students from Pakistan. Until recent times, Italian universities taught in the national language, which was a bottleneck.

But now more courses are being offered in English. Italy offers good public-sector universities that cost roughly as much as a degree from the Lahore University of Management Sciences or the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture.

However, Italy is still working on developing an infrastructure to process large volumes of students coming in. Sifting through actual students and those using education as a ploy to find a way into the country to settle and flip pizzas is an arduous labour-intensive task, the ambassador explained. While a foreign student is allowed to work 18 hours a week, they are not allowed to enter the job market on a student visa.

An image problem

In the ambassador’s view, Pakistan’s real problem is its image. “Italy has the mafia but it is not like if you went into a restaurant someone will shoot you. The mafia is 20,000 people while the rest of 60m people are normal”.

Positive messages would strengthen your image, he explained. “There are more dangerous countries that I have worked in but their image is an exotic one."

Nor is the salary difference as marked as one would assume. “Twenty years ago, the salary in Pakistan was 10pc of the Italian salary — now it is 45pc,” said the ambassador, much to our surprise. “If you want a quality worker, you have to pay. At the same level of skills, the salary is not so much different.” Add to that the fact more people speak English here than in, say, Vietnam, he added.

Importing Italian machinery

“When people think of Italy, they think of fashion. But our main voice in exports is robotics and machinery — all the textiles in China are made with our looms,” said the ambassador. An indicator of Pakistan’s strength in the global textile market, Italy is enticing Pakistani manufacturers to opt for Italian equipment.

In 2019, according to data by Trade Maps, most of the imports were sourced from China and Germany, followed by Japan and India, with Italy ranking fifth. “Our machinery is more expensive, but it is of the highest quality,” explained Mr Ferrarese.

Recently, two technology centres have been established with Italian cooperation — the Italy-Pakistan Footwear Technology Centre in Lahore and the Italy-Pakistan Textile Technology Centre in Faisalabad — for which latest machinery has been donated by Italy.

However, this generosity is prompted by the hope that these donations will spark interest in companies that will then import them from Italy. “Pakistan is the middle-market, not the lower market. You have a taste for quality,” he said. While manufacturers today may be using labour-intensive machinery, newcomers will aim higher and opt for Italian imports,” hoped the ambassador.

Wooing Pakistan

Italian ambassador expresses interest in deepening ties between the two countries.

www.dawn.com

Instead of wondering why Italy is wooing Pakistan, think of how you can further this relationship and what Pakistan can do to elevate its exports.

These sorts of paranoid questions haven’t done anything for your country in the past.

When Western ambassadors in Pakistan talk about broadening trade and economic relations this really needs to be taken with a good pinch of salt.

I am in my late 30s now and I have heard my entire life how Pakistan was supposed to increase trade with certain European nations. It is always the same empty promise. The population is young, the potential is high blah blah. The funny thing is that it is always the ambasadors making such claims.

Your foreign ministry, and other institutions should be leading the efforts. You can’t rely on others to do your work for you. The only thing Italy and others can do is open doors for you, the rest you have to do.

 

[PaklovesTurkiye]

Title suggest as if two countries are about to have sex with each other

 

[Falcon26]

You are right, but I have also been very critical of our side. We lack many things and one of them is seriousness. Having potential is not enough. You also need to transform the potential into something useful.

Having said that, there is zero chance of good trading relations with Western nations in general. The Western nations have a very skewed view of Pakistan. That won't change anytime soon.

If I were Pakistan I would invest in regional trade which has a much higher chance of success. We also need to look at other parts of the world including Africa and South America.

It’s unconscionable how Pakistani planners have ignored South America for so long. Fostering economic relations with countries like Brazil and Argentina helps pakistan diversify its exports and gain new markets.

 

[Dalit]

Instead of wondering why Italy is wooing Pakistan, think of how you can further this relationship and what Pakistan can do to elevate its exports.

These sorts of paranoid questions haven’t done anything for your country in the past.


Your foreign ministry, and other institutions should be leading the efforts. You can’t rely on others to do your work for you. The only thing Italy and others can do is open doors for you, the rest you have to do.

It won't happen. These ambassadors come and go. They become enchanted for a little while and off they go. We have heard these stories before. It amounts to nothing.

Let's be frank now. This is the same West that has been fighting against Pakistan next door in Afghanistan for two decades. Along with the US NATO countries have tried their level best to undermine Pakistan. No one should be under any illusions. They want to prop up India at our expense. This is the whole story.

It’s unconscionable how Pakistani planners have ignored South America for so long. Fostering economic relations with countries like Brazil and Argentina helps pakistan diversify its exports and gain new markets.

Absolutely. The world is big. Look at China's example. Trading in every nook and corner. Why should we only look at the West?

Our relationship with the West has not been a good one from the very beginning. It has been exploitative and temporary. First impression is usually the last. It is very difficult to change perception. We need to move on. Pakistan has no time to appease anyone. Build regional trade relations and look beyond the West.

 

[Progressive1]

Potential is all and good what we are hearing this for decades , now its time to harness it , for this we should focus on re engineering of our society on base level

I like italians and germans , we can learn a lot from such nations in developing strong national spirit , I would rather us being close to them than to middle easterners or islamic countries.

 

[airmarshal]

When Western ambassadors in Pakistan talk about broadening trade and economic relations this really needs to be taken with a good pinch of salt.

I am in my late 30s now and I have heard my entire life how Pakistan was supposed to increase trade with certain European nations. It is always the same empty promise. The population is young, the potential is high blah blah. The funny thing is that it is always the ambasadors making such claims.

Its because Pakistan is a sluggish country that does not recognize its strengths. If foreign ambassadors see that potential, why cant we?

Pakistan has been in this situation because our leadership only thinks about itself. Ever woner why we are always in IMF program while even worse performing economies go into IMF program only once or twice max?

Pakistan problem has been it has not been able to harness its strengths. Its a country of 220 million but its exports are just $24 billion. These numbers are so embarrassing and no foreign ambassador can fix it. Here, as one former German ambassador was quoted as saying, people are more interested in visa than wanting to do trade.

 

[Dalit]

Its because Pakistan is a sluggish country that does not recognize its strengths. If foreign ambassadors see that potential, why cant we?

Pakistan has been in this situation because our leadership only thinks about itself. Ever woner why we are always in IMF program while even worse performing economies go into IMF program only once or twice max?

Pakistan problem has been it has not been able to harness its strengths. Its a country of 220 million but its exports are just $24 billion. These numbers are so embarrassing and no foreign ambassador can fix it. Here, as one former German ambassador was quoted as saying, people are more interested in visa than wanting to do trade.

No doubt, but I find it hilarious how our frenemies lecture us on these so-called truths.

Of course the people are to blame. In foreign countries we work like donkeys. We are willing to do anything. From cleaning streets to driving taxis and everything else. In our own country our mindset is very different. There is disbelief and pessimism of the highest order. Whenever I visit Pakistan I am gobsmacked at the amount of pessimism I find in people. No one is willing to take responsibility. Let alone collective responsibility.

 

[El Sidd]

Coffee club countries will seek closer cooperation in the decade ahead.

 

[KaiserX]

We need to focus on exporting to our immediate neighborhood ie China, Central Asia, and the middle east. East Asia and Africa are the 2 largest potential markets for us to broaden our scope.

If we go further then America (North & South). Europe is a dying continent that will be ran by arabs in 40 years time lol

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Great to See Pakistan-Italian ties growing, welcoming sign once Pakistan's currency recovers , I am sure many Pakistanis will choose Italy as a point of interest for tourism.

The recent fluctuation of Pakistan's local currency has limited Pakistan's ability for Tourism across into Europe
However in Past Pakistani were known to travel and spend time abroad when possible

The figures are improving and I am sure soon travel between two nations will increase to new levels ideally, Pakistan needs economy to recover to 60's level where we were on verge of breaking out , as a Young Developed nation

• Germany
• Italy

Are two nations where Pakistan's ties will no doubt grow , Pakistan could benefit greatly from knowledge from the two Nations

Italy of course is one of most popular football nations specially in Pakistan

• Great possibilities to see Italian Football Academies opening up in Pakistan , and also expansion of Italian Restaurant , via CPEC/Gwadar route
• Other possibilities lie in the Cheese manufacturing and distribution (Joint Ventures)

 

[FuturePAF]

It’s unconscionable how Pakistani planners have ignored South America for so long. Fostering economic relations with countries like Brazil and Argentina helps pakistan diversify its exports and gain new markets.

Pakistani Ambassadors around the world, should be told to prioritize outlining what and whom they need to form a team to scout out economic activities in their country of responsibility. Along with helping people travel to and from these countries, if Pakistan can increase trade, it can gain more clout.

The PM asked his ministers recently to outline merits by which they will be judged for the rest of this terms, well ambassadors need similar merits. Economics should be , if not first, among the top 3 for every ambassador around the world.