European Union (EU) is the largest trading partner of Pakistan with over nine billion Euro trade volume, said EU Ambassador Lars-Gunnar WIGEMARK while addressing members of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) on Thursday.
He said the EU was extending special support to Pakistan because of its role in the war on terror. He said Pakistan was already enjoying GSP status and now the Pakistan government had filed an application for GSP Plus in March this year. He said Pakistan is practically qualified for GSP Plus as it has already signed and implemented 27 international conventions. However, there are some reservations about six conventions including child labour, discrimination against minorities, women harassment etc. He said by the end of this year some kind of decision would be made on the GSP Plus status to Pakistan. He said that EU was also engaged with Pakistan in other fields. “We are extending 40 million Euros for technical and vocational training and have so far trained 80,000 people for efficient use of available water resources,” he said.
The UE ambassador said more facilities would also be extended to train workers in Pakistan. He said Pakistan has potential to play more roles in EU but there are some impediments of standardisation. The EU ambassador was optimistic of the active role of Pakistan in EU countries and said training to the Pakistani businessmen exporting seafood to the EU would be extended. He said two companies from Pakistan have qualified to sell seafood to EU.
He said Pakistan should also concentrate on regional trade as huge markets like India, China, Iran and Afghanistan are available in close vicinity. He said EU was also monitoring the election process in the country. In this connection, 48 observers are monitoring the election process while another 52 are visiting various cities so that the election activity could be observed, he added.
Regarding slow moving items, he admitted there are some items which are not relevant to Pakistani businessmen. However, Pakistan should concentrate further on improving the quality of its exports and in this context EU is extending facility of training the workforce.
He said in the coming years we will be concentrating on development of local communities to improve law and order and discourage terrorist activities. Earlier in his welcome address to the ambassador FCCI President Mian Zahid Aslam said Pakistan attaches great importance to its relationship with the EU regional bloc. He appreciated EU policy to stay constructively with Pakistan, both on political and economic fronts.
He said EU engagement in Pakistan in development programs with a total value of 750 million Euros and humanitarian aid of over 370 Euros in the last four years makes it the number one international humanitarian player in Pakistan. He further said EU being a major trading bloc and the world’s single largest market is the largest trading partner of Pakistan. The EU accounts for 21% of Pakistan’s external trade, with Pakistani exports to the EU in 2012 amounting to 4.07 billion Euros and EU exports to Pakistan amounting to 4.10 billion Euros, he said.
He said the EU has already helped Pakistan by allowing Autonomous Trade Preferences (ATP) package but the grant of GSP Plus from next year as well as concluding a Free Trade Agreement is the real remedy to help Pakistan overcome its economic difficulties through better access to EU markets.
