LAHORE  -   The first three-day International Cement Conference concluded on Wednesday on a positive note as the global and local stakeholders entered negotiations over future cooperation and showed keen interest in joint ventures.

The participants of the conference showed their excitement as they now have a better picture of Pakistani and regional cement industry's pros and cons. The conference was jointly organized by INTERCEM, a global events leader in cement sector and All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association.

Industry experts talk on different aspects of the sector in three-day interactive event. Apart of this, special sessions for regional market overviews were also organized which further cleared the minds of the participants about regional market of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh etc.

Farid Fazal, Senior vice Chairman of APCMA, said that the conference would help local industry to deepen the roots in regional and other international markets and they are hopeful that this conference will set a new trend in Pakistan's cement industry. "All renowned cement experts have participated in this conference and we hope to work with our peers together to build a better trading relation with them", he added.

Many global companies also showed their interest to either utilize the idle cement capacity via imports or to enter in some contracts to upgrade or construct new cement plants in Pakistan. "We have previously worked with a local cement company and help them in setting up their plant, we are further looking for the same or allied opportunity for our company to work with Pakistani stake holders," said Marcus Fritz Director sales of a German base engineering company Thyssenkrupp AG.

Chairman Gulf Cement (Pvt) Ltd, Abdul Majeed said that he was about to start work on a new cement plant owning to brighter prospects of this industry.

"We are looking to create contacts and possible cooperation through this conference as China Pakistan Economic Corridor in general and One Belt One Road initiative in particular will open up new horizons for Pakistan," he added.

China National Building Material Co Ltd executive Chen Kui said that Pakistan and China are already enjoying friendly relations. "We as a company are further looking to deepen our engagements with Pakistan in cement sector as CPEC and other infrastructural development initiatives are opening new horizons for us," Kui said.