High-Level EU–Pakistan Business Forum

Apply well in advance through your local Pakistani embassy or consulate. Some countries of origin are also eligible for E-visas, which you can apply for online, but they have to be confirmed before arrival to avoid unforeseen complications. The EU Delegation has a direct coordination channel with the Government of Pakistan to help facilitate and expedite visa processing for international participants. If you require support, please contact us after completing your registration.

Official website: E-visa NADRA

Visa registration page: Registration

Visa categories: Visa types

Arrange airport transfers with your hotel (often complementary) or pre-book through a ride hailing service like inDrive or Yango. Renting a car with a driver is also advisable for ease of movement within the city, such as from firms like Avis.

Islamabad has many hotels that provide excellent accommodation, including the Serena, Mövenpick, Ramada, Best Western Premier, Grand Regency,and Marriott. It's advisable to book your room in advance to ensure availability. Additionally, you can receive a discount for executive rooms at the Serena Hotel if you book by March 31st and mention the EU Pakistan Business Forum. For details on how to avail this discount, please visit this link.

The local currency is the Pakistani Rupee (PKR). You can exchange money at the airport (preferable) or use ATMs at major hotels and banks, such as the Standard Chartered. Credit cards are widely accepted at hotels, restaurants, and malls, but your bank might require prior approval for withdrawals and access to local credit card machines in some cases.

To maintain seamless communication, use local SIM cards from providers such as Telenor, Jazz, or Zong. E-SIMs are also an option, as well as hotel Wi-Fi.

Pakistan has rich traditions, and respecting local customs is appreciated. For business meetings, men usually shake hands, while women may sometimes prefer a nod or smile instead. Dressing modestly is advisable to respect cultural norms.

The Lingua franca of Pakistan is Urdu but English is widely spoken as well, especially in business contexts.

The weather during the event dates is very hot and humid. Lightweight, breathable and opaque clothing is recommended. Try to stay inside at your hotel, the event venue and inDrive/Hotel Pickup during the length of the event, especially during the day. If you are prone to sunburn, be sure to apply plenty of sunscreen before moving outdoors even for a little while.

Meat-based dishes outside of high-end restaurants and liquids from street food are not recommended. Vegan choices are available but can be challenging to identify, as the concept is extremely uncommon in Pakistan. Many international fast-food chains are also present in Islamabad.

Vaccinations: Vaccinations are not necessary for adults visiting Islamabad. However, for an extended stay with children, Rotavirus vaccinations are recommended. If you plan to visit border areas or explore Karachi then Poliovirus vaccinations are highly recommended as well.

Health Insurance: Ensure you have comprehensive health insurance that covers you while abroad. Islamabad has reputable hospitals, such as Shifa Hospital.

Emergency Contacts: Islamabad has a very low crime rate, but it’s wise to keep a list of emergency numbers, including local hospitals and your country’s embassy, in case of accidents.

Some must-visit attractions include:

• Faisal Mosque: The largest mosque in Pakistan, known for its stunning architecture. View on Map

• Daman-e-Koh: A viewpoint that offers a panoramic view of the city. View on Map

• Pakistan Monument: A national monument representing the provinces and autonomous regions of Pakistan. View on Map

• Lok Virsa Museum: Showcasing the cultural heritage of Pakistan. View on Map

• Margalla Hills National Park: Great for hiking and enjoying nature. View on Map

Click the Register button in the top right corner. Then, enter your email address and create a strong password. Next, enter your first and last name, and tick the box to agree to the Terms of service and Privacy policy.

After that, you need to choose your attendance type and participation type for the event you are registering, in case the organizer configured the event in such a way.

Once you define your attendance and participation type, click on Continue to create your b2match account and start registering for the event.

For more information click here.

Click the Register button in the top right corner. If you already have a b2match account, log in. If you do not have one, create it by following the instructions in the previous question.

The process of registering for an event consists of two steps:

1. Creating a b2match account

2. Creating your profile

The Create your profile section consists of several fields that should be filled to make your profile as attractive as possible to other participants. Once you fill out everything you need, click on Continue to finish your event registration.

For more information click here.

First, locate the Log in button in the upper right corner of the event navigation. Type in the email and password you used to create your b2match account. After that, click on Log In.

For more information click here.

On the event page, navigate to the Log in button in the upper right corner of the event navigation.

Under the Email and Password field, click the Forgot password? link, enter your email address, and then click the Send reset link. You will then receive an email with a Reset password button. Clicking the button in the email will redirect you to the password setup screen.

Type in your new password in the New password and Confirm password fields. We recommend that you create a secure password with upper and lower case letters, at least one number, and special characters to ensure the security of your account. Afterwards, click on the Reset password and log in button.

For more information click here.

The first step to changing your password is clicking on your avatar in the upper right corner of the event website navigation. From the drop-down menu, choose Account settings. You can change your password in the Password section.

In the first field of the Password section, type in your current password. After this, enter the new password in the New password field. We recommend that you create a secure password with upper and lower case letters, at least one number, and special characters to ensure the security of your account.

Once you have created and entered the new password, type it again in the Confirm password field. Once you have entered and confirmed your new password, click on Change password to automatically update your password.

For more information click here.

The first step to changing your email address is locating your avatar in the upper right corner of the event website navigation. From the drop-down menu choose Account settings. You can change your email address in the Email Address section.

In the Email Address field enter the new email address you want to associate with your b2match account.

Once you enter the new email address, click on the Update email address button. However, this doesn't automatically update your email address. You will receive an email to the new email address with a link to verify the new address. After you click on the link, the address will be successfully updated.

For more information click here.

To change your time zone, first, find your avatar in the upper right corner of the event website navigation. From the drop-down menu choose Event settings.

In the Time zone section, you can choose between the Default time zone and My custom time zone.

• Default time zone - the times of the event are displayed according to the default time zone set by the organizers

• My custom time zone - the times of the event are displayed according to your own time zone

Once you select My custom time zone, choose your time zone from the drop-down list, and then click the Change time zone button.

For more information click here.

Although you create your b2match profile when registering for an event, you can always edit your profile later. To ensure that you have the best experience possible during the event, we recommend that you devote more time and attention when editing your profile.

Edit my profile from Dashboard

Click on your profile dropdown in the upper right corner of the event navigation and select Dashboard. On the left sidebar of the dashboard, in the User info widget, click on the pencil icon to edit your profile.

For more information click here.

An organization page can be created in the registration form during the Organisation Details step. In this step, you have two options: Join an Existing Organization or Create a New Organization. Below the option to join an existing organization based on your email address, select the option to create a new organization.

When you select this option, additional organization-related fields will appear. Enter a name for your organization, select its organization type, and complete the remaining fields marked as mandatory. Once you have filled in all the required fields, click Continue to proceed with the registration process.

There are two ways of joining an existing organization; by selecting an existing organization in the registration form or by accepting Organization Administrator invitation.

Joining an existing organization in the registration form

Based on your email address, the system will recommend existing organizations that you may join. Below each organization’s name, you will see the name of the Organization Admin, which may help you decide which organization is correct. Select the one you are a part of and click Continue to proceed with the registration process.

Joining an existing organization by accepting the invitation

Once invited by the Organization Administrator, click on the Register for the Event button in the invitation email. You will need to either accept or decline the invitation. If you accept the invitation, you can proceed with the registration process, skipping the Organisation Details step, as you will be automatically registered within the invited organization.

The first step in adding representatives is to have an organization page created during the registration process. Only the organization's Administrator can send invites to join an existing organization.

Inviting an existing participant

On your dashboard, click on the name of your organization to access the organization page. 

On the organization page, click on the Representatives tab. After that, click on the Send invites button. This will open the Invite representatives modal. Here you can type in the email address which the participant used to register for the event and click on Send invite.

The participant will receive a notification that he has been invited to join your organization as a representative via email. They will also see the organization’s name on their dashboard. They can accept or decline your invitation on the Add organization page widget. 

Inviting a new participant

Navigate to your organization’s page from your dashboard. Then, on the Representatives tab, click on Send invites. 

Next, type in the mail of the organization representative you want to invite to the event and add to your organization. The organization representative will then get the invitation and the link to register for the event via email.

For more information click here.

Yes, you can register without an organization if the event rules allow it. In that case, the Organisation Details step will be skipped in the registration form.

If you see a message saying "Your profile is waiting to be activated, until then you are not visible to other participants." when you log in, it means that the event organizers have not done so yet.

If you believe your profile should have been activated already, please check the Contacts page and let the event organizers know.

First, you need to indicate your availability for meetings. Your meeting availability shows the time slots when you may be available for a meeting. It is important to make yourself available for meetings because you won’t be able to send or receive meeting requests otherwise.

There are two places where you can set your meeting availability.

Set availability from the Meetings page

Access the Meetings page by clicking on the 4 dots in the navigation bar. In the upper right corner, under your avatar, click on Availability.

First, it is important to make yourself available for meetings. You can do that by clicking on the toggle button at the top of the page. Next, tick the boxes next to the dates you’re available for meetings. After that, click on Save to save your meeting availability time slots.

Set availability from your Dashboard

Open your dashboard from the drop-down menu by clicking on your avatar. Here, find the Book meetings section and click on the My availability button to open the Availability modal. In the Availability modal, select your available time slots.

For more information click here.

Finding meeting partners through the Participant list

You can find all your potential meeting partners through the Participant list.

The Participant list contains information about all participants at the event. If you find an interesting profile and want to schedule a meeting with that participant, simply click on the plus icon next to their name.

Finding meeting partners through the Marketplace

On the Marketplace, you might find interesting opportunities you want to learn more about. The good news is that you can schedule a meeting with the person who posted the opportunity directly from the Marketplace.

Find the Marketplace in the event navigation. Next to the name of the participant on an Opportunity, click on the plus icon to open the Request a meeting modal.

For more information click here.

Navigate to the Participant list with all participants attending the event by clicking on Participants on the event navigation.

You can also access the participant list through your Dashboard. On your Dashboard, click on the Book meetings button. This will redirect you to the participant list. To schedule a meeting with the participant, click on the plus icon. After you click on the plus icon, a meeting modal will open.

By default, meetings are configured as one-on-one meetings. If the organizer enabled group meetings, then you can add up to 6 more members to the meeting. In the Request meeting modal, you can add more members and then select the meeting date and meeting time.

Available meeting dates will be highlighted on the calendar with a different color. When you're selecting the meeting time, you will see which participants are available or unavailable in that time slot. If some participants are unavailable at a specific time, you won't be able to select that time slot.

You may also add a message that will be sent to the participant with your meeting request. After you filled in all the fields, click on Send request. After that, a new info modal will be displayed with all the details about the meeting. The other participants will be notified of your meeting request when you send it, and they may decide whether to accept it or not. After they respond to your meeting request, you will get a notification of their response.

For more information click here.

We recommend joining the meeting room before the meeting starts to test your microphone and camera. You will see a notification that the meeting has not yet started, and when will it start.

For more information click here.

You can reschedule meetings on the Meetings page.

To access the Meetings page, click on the 4 dots on the event navigation. Find the meeting you want to reschedule, click on 3 dots, and then click Edit meeting. To reschedule a meeting, simply change the meeting date or time. Once you select another meeting date or time, click on Save changes.

A confirmation window will open with all the details about the meeting. The participant will be notified about the change you made and will have to accept or reject them. Before the participants respond to your changes, the meeting will be in a pending state.

For more information click here.

You can access the meeting rating in three places.

1. Access the Meetings page, click on the meetings icon on the event page navigation. On the Meetings page, you can see all your upcoming, canceled, and past meetings. Each meeting tab in the Past category includes a feedback button. Find the meeting you want to rate, click on the Give feedback button and provide your rating.

2. Meetings can also be rated directly through your notifications. You can access the Notifications drop-down menu by clicking on the bell icon in the event navigation

3. If the Event Survey feature is enabled for the event, navigate to the Dashboard from the avatar drop-down menu on the event navigation, and click on Take the survey on the Leave Feedback widget. Here, you can provide feedback on the whole event and rate all meetings you attended at once. Once you rate your meetings, click Save.

For more information click here.

Access the Conversation page by clicking on the chat icon button on the event page navigation. In Conversations, click on the chat plus icon button to start a new conversation. In the Start new conversation modal, type in the name of the participant(s) you want to send a message to and type in the message. Afterward, click on Send.

Alternatively, you can send a message directly to a participant by clicking the message button on their profile.

For more information click here.

Wait a few minutes for your meeting partner to join the meeting. If they don't show up, send them a message through the chat option.

If you are using the b2match app you can send the message through the app as well.

The first step to registering for a session is to open your agenda. On the event navigation, click on Agenda. Here, you will see all sessions at the event. To register for a session, simply click on the Add button on the session card.

If you want to deregister for a specific session, click on the Added button which will appear instead of the Add button.

You can see the sessions you are attending on the My schedule tab on the Agenda page.

On the My schedule tab, you can see all the sessions, hosted sessions, and meetings you are attending categorized by date.

For easy access to your schedule, you can also click on the schedule icon in the upper right corner of the event navigation to open the My schedule drop-down.

For more information click here.

Every event consists of different sessions you can participate in, but it is hard to attend every single one. This is why it is important to find sessions that may be suitable for you. Filters can help you search for relevant sessions.

On the right side of the Agenda page, you will see all the filters you can use to search for sessions. Sessions can be filtered by tracks, topics, location, and session type. For more details on specific sessions, simply click on the session name to open the Single session page. Here, you can find a more detailed description so you know what the session is all about.

For more information click here.

In the upper right corner of the event page navigation, click on your avatar, and from the drop-down menu, select Manage opportunities.

On the Manage opportunities page, click the Add an opportunity button.

Next, choose the opportunity type you want to add and click Next to edit your opportunity. Add relevant information so that other participants have a clear picture of what you offer.

For more information click here.