Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham to visit Pakistan in Oct. 2022

Consulate General of Pakistan and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) organised the inaugural virtual meeting of the Steering Group established to facilitate the visit to Pakistan of a delegation led by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Mr Andy Burnham in October 2022.

The delegation’s visit will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the bilateral relations between the two countries and will comprise representatives from prominent business houses, investors, educational and cultural institutions.

It will catapult the existing relations between Pakistan and the Greater Manchester region in all spheres.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Tariq Wazir Consul General of Pakistan and attended by Mr. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr. Mike Nithavrianakis, United Kingdom’s Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan and representatives from University of Bolton, University of Salford, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester Airport, The Textile Institute, Manchester Museum, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Department of International Trade and the British Council.

Mr. Tariq Wazir welcomed the participants and apprised them about the historical linkages between Pakistan and the United Kingdom and the need to further cement these linkages by engaging different institutions, businesses, and organisations from both sides. He identified the immense opportunities for cooperation available in the areas of trade, investment, skilled human resource and tourism.

Mr. Andy Burnham and Mr. Mike Nithavrianakis, while acknowledging the contributions of the Pakistani diaspora in all spheres, also emphasized on the need to further expanding the existing linkages and venturing into the Pakistani market offering immense opportunities to the business houses, investors, and organisations from the United Kingdom in general and Greater Manchester in particular. Mr. Muhammad Akhtar, Commercial Counsellor, updated the participants about the overall business environment in Pakistan and opportunities for the enterprises from UK.

In the end, Consul General thanked all the participants in taking keen interest to make the scheduled visit of Mayor Andy Burnham and his delegation productive and beneficial for both sides.