About

Canada-Pakistan Business Council was registered in Montreal in 1983,as a non-profit organization by several business organizations of Canadian and Pakistani origin, to promote trade between Canada and Pakistan.

CPBC is a well reputed organization recognized by both the Governments of Canada and Pakistan.

Over the last 20 years the Council has organized several trade missions, to and from Pakistan, and has many success stories under its belt.

Through the efforts of the Council, many leading Canadian companies such as Teleglobe, New Bridge, etc in their hay days set up their offices in Pakistan and successfully conducted business.

In 1996, Anwar (Andy) Merchant was elected as the President to give a new direction to the Council. The headquarters were then moved from Montreal to Toronto. Since then 10 trade delegations have been organized, resulting in several joint ventures and business promotions.

A few Highlights include a transfer of technology agreement between Aga Khan Hospital and Queen’s University, between CM INC and OPSTec (now known as Preston University).

Some business contracts were signed between Softlight Inc, and 22 colleges and Universities for the promotion of educational products.

Business was also concluded with a CNG company of Toronto and Shell dealers of Pakistan to a tune of over 5 million dollars.

In 1998 a Pak-Canada trade committee was formed by the Federation of Chamber of Commerce of Pakistan to develop the bi-lateral trade.

In June 2003 an MOU was signed between Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and CPBC to promote the bilateral trade between Canada and Pakistan by encouraging large Canadian and Pakistani companies to establish business links.

In September CPBC signed 2 MOUs between International Chamber of Commerce and Common Wealth Advantage headed by Hon. Sinclair Stevens, ex Minister of Industries, Govt. of Canada. This agreement will enhance the investment and IT business. Canadian companies will procure business from both Canada and USA and outsource to Pakistan. This could result in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business over the next few years.

CPBC also invites distinguished leaders and business men from time to time to address the members of the Business Council.

– In 2002 CPBC invited Dr. Atta-Ur-Rahman, Minister of Science and Technology along with key members of PSEB to explore the business potential with Canada.

– In August CPBC organized a seminar for the visiting Minister of Commerce, Mr. Humayun Akhtar and also introduced him to leading business companies interested in joint ventures.

Canada- Pakistan Business Council is a member of a loosely formed organization of South Asian Business Council Alliance (SABCA).This association was formed between various councils of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal last year and has a mandate to promote Canadian Trade with South Asian countries.

In 1999, CPBC was also quite instrumental in raising funds for the establishment of a permanent South Asian Art Gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum. CPBC is also committed to the education program. It has also adopted schools in the remote areas of Karachi and Lahore and has given a scholarship to LUMS (Lahore University of Management Science), which is affiliated with McGill University in Montreal. Recently CPBC also awarded a scholarship for journalism to a student from Pakistan towards “Daniel Pearl Foundation” to create better understanding between Pakistan and the western world.