The Swedish Ambassador in Pakistan, Ulrika Sundberg, has said that Sweden is making great efforts to ensure Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) plus status for Pakistan in European Union. Speaking at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Saturday, he said, “We are pushing for GSP Plus status for Pakistan because we see a lot of untapped potential in the country.”
The Ambassador said that the Swedish businesses were willing to work with their counterparts in Pakistan. She said, there is a dire need to develop close liaison between private sectors of Pakistan and Sweden for exchange of information and market research. She said that Sweden is an important member of European Union and businessmen from Pakistan should come forward to avail trade opportunities between the countries. Pakistan is known around the globe for its textile products, sports goods, surgical instruments, fresh fruits & vegetables, rice, carpets, leather made ups, fish & fish preparations, handicrafts, artificial jewelry, fancy furniture, footwear, hosiery, garments, and so many other consumable items.
These items need to be properly introduced in the European Market, she said. The envoy said Pakistani business community would have to adopt an aggressive strategy to enter into Swedish Market because Swedes are not only quality conscious but also very selective in making deals with other countries. She said the Sweden was taking appropriate and sector-specific measures to expedite trade relations with Pakistan as presently it was doing 80 per cent of its trade with regional countries in the European Union.
On this occasion, LCCI President Shahzad Ali Malik said that like any developing country, Pakistan has been suffering from trade deficit. He stressed upon the need for more exports to Sweden from Pakistan. “We expect that Sweden will consider increasing its imports from Pakistan particularly our agricultural products, which are good in quality” The taste and aroma of Pakistani rice, mangoes, kinno etc. have no match in the world, he added.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s major imports from Sweden are iron, steel, paper, machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, pulp of wood, plastics, copper products and chemical products. These too are a minor fragment of Pakistan’s imports from the world. Hence there is a possibility of greater export of these commodities by Sweden to Pakistan. The LCCI President said that for broadening mutual trade and investment delegations should be exchanged between the two countries.
The LCCI is in correspondence with Stockholm Chamber of Commerce which is planning to bring a Swedish delegation to Pakistan at the end of 2011.
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