Netherlands wants more business with Pakistan

Dutch Ambassador Marcel de Vink has said that bilateral relations between Pakistan and Netherlands have centred in the past 50 years on development cooperation.

During a press briefing at a local hotel on “recent developments in bilateral trade, culture and human rights,” he said the main sectors among others were water management, good governance and education, adding now the focus was on trade instead of aid.

The current trade was at about $ 800 million per year, roughly equally divided imports/exports, which was substantial, but Pakistan was the 6th largest country in the world with only a very small part of total Dutch trade, he commented.

On the import side, Center for Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) works with Pakistan to make them more competitive, the ambassador said. They have had successes in automotive parts, surgical instruments, agriculture and have recently signed a MoU with Pakistani Business Support Organisations to jointly provide training and for capacity building, he added.

Senior Experts Programme (PUM) carries out 40 short consultancy missions to Pakistani businesses per year.

GSP+ expected to provide boost to imports from Pakistan, hopefully not only textiles, but also diversification into other product lines. The NL supported GSP+ from the beginning, and was pleased with the new status. Of course, this also entails responsibilities for Pakistan to keep pre-conditions and standards, he said.

On the export side, their priority sectors were water, energy, logistics and agriculture, he averred, adding that last year they brought in a water expert mission and participated in the energy fair here. This year they would cooperate in the agriculture fair in Lahore. They were also looking to bring in a trade mission focusing on agriculture and water. Netherlands was also the 5th largest investor in Pakistan, he said.

The Dutch Business Circle was created in Pakistan in September last year to facilitate interaction.