Sheikh Humayun Sayeed, Chairman Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Diplomatic Affairs in a press statement expressed satisfaction on the recent Pakistan and European Union strategic dialogue. He commended the Pakistan foreign office for handling the dialogue in a befitting manner. He said that recent dialogue on Autonomous Trade Preferences (ATPs) for Pakistan offered by the EU would always be cherished by Pakistan as this offer came up at a moment when Pakistan was hit by devastating floods. Majority of the districts in Sindh province were terribly hit by the floods. He further added that the ATPs would boost Pak-EU trade relations. Sheikh Humayun Sayeed stated that Generalized System of Preferences plus (GSP+) should also be offered to Pakistan because Pakistan was a major exporter of textiles to EU. Pakistani textile products are famous among both local residents as well as Pakistani diaspora. The European Union remains Pakistan’s largest trading partner receiving 18 % of Pakistan’s exports and providing 9% of its total imports. The overall volume of trade between the EU and Pakistan was almost US$ 1 billion in the year 2010-11 and balance of trade was in Pakistan’s favour. While appreciating the formation of Pak-EU Steering Committee on Counter-terrorism he also appreciated EU on the acknowledgment of the sacrifices made by Pakistan against the war on terror.
