ISLAMABAD-Pakistan’s largest transport & logistics company and market leader, Daewoo Express has signed a historic strategic alliance agreement with Skywell Automobiles, China for setting up a value chain for electric vehicles in Pakistan.
In a ceremony at a local hotel, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Federal Minister for Science & Technology, was the chief guest, while Saleem Mandviwalla, Deputy Chairman Senate, and Yao Jing, Ambassador of China in Pakistan, were the guests of honor.
The agreement was signed during the ceremony simultaneously in Pakistan and China connected via web-link.
Faisal Siddiqui, CEO signed the agreement on behalf of Daewoo Express, along with Board Members, Sameer Chishty and Danish Ellahi, while simultaneously in China Skywell Automobile’s Chairman Steve Huang, and CEO Mr. Fan signed the agreement on behalf of Skywell Automobiles. Lt General (r) Asif Yasin, Umar Sultan and Adeel Malik were also present during the signing of the agreement.
Under this agreement, Skywell Automobiles China and Daewoo Express Pakistan will collaborate to introduce electric buses and other electric vehicles in Pakistan and create a technical support base in the country. Skywell Automobiles will provide its state of the art electric buses for the Pakistan market in Phase-1, and in Phase 2, shall set up a manufacturing plant for producing electric vehicles in Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said that electric buses and vehicles are the future of transport and the world is moving towards electric vehicles.
He said that we in Pakistan need to move towards this technology to protect our environment and grow our economy. He appreciated the work being done by Ministry of Trade & Commerce, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Ministry of Climate Change, and Ministry of Industries, to promote environment friendly technologies in Pakistan.
Saleem Mandviwalla, Deputy Chairman Senate, told the audience that this agreement between Daewoo Express and Skywell is not an agreement between a Chinese bus manufacturer and a Pakistani transport company, rather, it is the dawn of a new era in transport sector in Pakistan—an era which promises to be good for the environment as well as being positive for the economy.
Ambassador of China in Pakistan, Yao Jing, speaking at the occasion, talked about the strong ties between China and Pakistan and the spirit of collaboration between the private sector organizations of both countries. He added that China is played a key role in strengthening power generation capability in Pakistan under CPEC, and now gearing up for power usage through such business ventures for the overall environmental and economic betterment of Pakistan.
CEO of Daewoo Express, Faisal Siddiqui, speaking on the occasion, said that Daewoo Express transformed the transport sector back in 1998 when it introduced international standard diesel engine buses in Pakistan, and now again in 2020, Daewoo Express is taking a giant leap forward by collaborating with a leading Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles, Skywell Automobiles China to introduce electric vehicles in Pakistan.
Sameer Chishty, Board Member of Daewoo Express and Partner, SparkLabs Global, highlighted Daewoo’s role in elevating the service standards of Pakistan’s transport sector, and emphasized the importance of introducing cutting edge technology in achieving sustainable economic growth.
Lt. General (r) Asif Yasin, Chairman Warm Waters, Pakistan, in his address said that evolving times require determination to adapt quickly to newer technologies and to always remain in the race for the benefit of the country. Adeel Malik, Senior Partner, Warm Waters, apprised the audience about the importance of technology in economic growth and informed the audience that this agreement signing shall bring foreign direct investment worth USD 500 million into Pakistan over the next couple of years.