AS a result of active diplomacy of our Foreign Office led by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan is close to writing a new page in relationship with the European Union. At the fourth round of strategic dialogue held in the federal capital on Monday, the two sides agreed to a new strategic engagement plan to be signed in Brussels which indeed will open new vistas of cooperation and opportunities between the two important trading partners.
The credit of this major development definitely goes to the leadership of Shah Mahmood Qureshi who through his presence in the Foreign Office has made it unambiguously clear as to why a full time, active and dynamic foreign minister is important to successfully engage with the world and implement the basic contours of the foreign policy. As regards the EU bloc, it is very important for Pakistan as we export about a quarter of our total exports in their markets and the tariff concessions under the GSP Plus are very crucial for our exporters. Whilst addressing a joint news conference along with the EU Foreign Policy Chief, FM Qureshi stated that Pakistan’s exports to the EU countries have doubled ever since the grant of GSP Plus status by the Bloc in 2013. In this backdrop, reaching an agreement on long term strategic plan will help the two sides promote understanding of each other’s issues and exploit potential of cooperation in diverse fields. Currently, our exports mostly textile and textile-related products followed by food and beverages are generally concentrated in six countries, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and Belgium. These countries have accounted for around eighty percent of the total trade to the EU over the last ten years. This shows that Pakistan was unable to diversify its exports to other countries. The product mix of exports also remained the same. It is now opportune time for Pakistan to find export markets in other EU countries and diversify the product base through value addition to give a major impetus to exports to the EU countries. To take full advantage of duty free access to their markets, we need to invest more in latest technologies and manpower training in order to bring efficiency in production and ensuring reliability of the supply chain. This will also help us create job opportunities for youth and create wealth. From here, we also need move forward from a GSP Plus beneficiary to a free trade agreement partner.
Source: https://pakobserver.net/2019/03/27/pak-eu-getting-closer/
