Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) held a grand reception to pay tribute to one of the great business leaders of Pakistan Mr. Tariq Sayeed, Vice President, Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce & Industry and former President, SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Mr. Annis-ul-Haq, President, SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Sultan Ahmed Chawla, President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Iftikhar Ali Malik, Vice President, SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry and many other prominent business leaders of the country attended the reception.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr.Tariq Sayeed said that our country can never get sound economic progress without giving private sector a sizeable representation in the parliament.

He said proper presence of businessmen in the parliament will ensure making of business friendly policies and rapid growth of business and industrial activities in the country. He asked businessmen to nominate their own candidates for parliament that would help in prompt resolution of their problems. He thanked ICCI for holding a unique reception in his honor.

He congratulated ICCI for achieving 2nd position in the competition of Big Chambers Award organized by CACCI at Colombo, Sri Lanka. He said getting 2nd slot out of 29 competing countries is a great achievement of ICCI. He termed the ICCI as the premier chamber of the country.

Mr.Zahid Maqbool, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry paid rich tribute to Mr.Tariq Sayeed for his wonderful services to the business community. He said Tariq Sayeed has brought many laurels to the country and his election as Vice President, CACCI is a great honor for Pakistan.

Mr.Annis-ul-Haq, President, SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry said it was unfortunate that exports of 8 SAARC countries were less than the export of very small individual countries like Finland and Singapore. He said that SAARC region has great business potential as the region is endowed with immense natural resources.

However, to exploit these untapped resources, SAARC countries should promote more economic cooperation and regional integration. He greatly lauded the services of Tariq Sayeed for serving the interests of businessmen at different forums including SAARC Chamber.

Mr.Sultan Ahmad Chawla, President FPCCI, Mr.Iftikhar Ali Malik, Vice President, SAARC Chamber, Mr.Munawar Mughal, Chairman Founder Group and many other business leaders also spoke on the occasion and lauded the role of Mr.Tariq Sayeed in promoting country’s economic interests at different forums.