British High Commissioner to Pakistan Adam Thomson has vowed that his country is trying to bolster Pakistan’s access to the European market. “We are trying to get EU trade concession of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus for Pakistan and to get more Pakistani products on European shelves,” he said, while speaking to a delegation of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).
The delegation comprised Vice President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik, FPCCI Vice President Amir Atta Bajwa, FPCCI,Capital Office Chairman Hameed Akhtar Chadda, FPCCI Senior Vice Chairman Kanwar Qutbuddin and Media Chairman Malik Sohail.
Second Political Secretary of the British High Commission Sharon Mc Donald, BHC Trade and Investment officer Jason Mumtaz and other diplomats were also present in the meeting between British High Commissioner and FPCCI delegation.
According to a FPCCI press statement, the British High Commissioner said that he was tasked by his government to double bilateral trade in four years. For this purpose, he said, there was need to further enhance political relations, improve people-to-people contacts and invite British businessmen to invest in Pakistan.
Thomson stated that Pakistan has a very conducive business environment but UK’s SME sector was still reluctant to invest and this would only become possible if the local business community extends cooperation. He underlined that British exporters are not as aggressive as Pakistani counterparts and as a result, an increased share of trade was in favour of Pakistan. He revealed that invitations had been extended to British investors to explore energy, retail and other promising sectors.
Lauding an offer by Malik Sohail, Adam Thomson said that dispute resolution initiative by the FPCCI would encourage the UK business community to invest in Pakistan.
The high commissioner also agreed to explore business exchange programmes and assured support in the upgradation of FPCCI’s R&D section in the new building at Islamabad to boost its capacity.
Speaking on the occasion, Iftikhar Ali Malik, who is also FPCCI former president, said Pakistan was being deprived of rights while other countries like Bangladesh are availing concessions. He stated that Reconstruction Opportunity Zones was not a viable idea and urged UK to help boost regional trade. Bajwa said that relations between the two governments depend on ties between people of these nations while Hameed Akhtar Chadda raised questions about visa procedure. To a query posed by Malik Sohail Hussian, the High Commissioner, he said that Pakistan has suffered more in war on terror than what it received in return.
