Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Canada, Muhammad Saleem, has highlighted vast untapped potential for strengthening bilateral trade and investment cooperation between Pakistan and Canada.

Addressing a distinguished gathering of Canadian legislators, business leaders and policy influencers at the historic Albany Club in Toronto, he said the forum provided an important opportunity to share Pakistan’s economic strengths and emerging investment opportunities with Canada’s political and business communities.

The High Commissioner said Pakistan offers competitive and promising prospects in key sectors including mining and minerals, information technology–enabled services, clean energy and infrastructure development. He emphasized that Pakistan’s economic diplomacy initiatives are aimed at attracting foreign investment and expanding international trade partnerships.

Muhammad Saleem also underscored Pakistan’s strategic geographic location, describing it as a natural bridge connecting Central Asia, South Asia, the Gulf States and the wider world through the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. He noted that Canadian companies can play a significant role across multiple sectors in Pakistan, particularly under Canada’s economic diversification drive.

Sharing his views on regional and global issues, the High Commissioner said sustainable peace in South Asia is vital for long-term regional prosperity. He reiterated Pakistan’s principled stance on the Kashmir dispute and stressed the need for its peaceful resolution in line with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

He recalled Canada’s first-ever United Nations peacekeeping mission in the disputed Kashmir region in 1949 and emphasized the importance of holding a free and fair plebiscite to allow the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir to decide their future.

Ontario’s Associate Solicitor General and Member of Provincial Parliament, Zee Hamid, and former Canadian Member of Parliament and Chair of the Canada-Pakistan Business Council, Bryon Wilfert, also addressed the participants.