LAHORE:Ambassador of European Union Dr. Rina Kionka has said that they are overjoyed with the announcement that Pakistan is out of the FATF Grey List. It has added to overall positive narrative which they want to see much more of Pakistan.
She was speaking at a meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where LCCI President Kashif Anwar, Senior Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Mahmood and Vice President Adnan Khalid Butt also spoke on the occasion.
The Ambassador said that the successive Pakistani governments have put in lot of efforts in this achievement. She said that EU-Pakistan relations have a strategic engagement which covers all the areas including counter terrorism, trade, climate change, GSP Plus Status (Generalized System of Preferences) and various others.
She said that 10-year period of GSP Plus is going to end and a mission is preparing 4th and final report of the last 10-year which will be discussed in Brussels and EU Parliament. These two bodies will decide that which country is eligible and which is not for GSP Plus Status.
The Ambassador said that Pakistan will have to re-apply for the GSP Plus Status and EU will inform within next four to five months. She said that during this period of application, Pakistan will be enjoying all facilities under GSP Plus Status.
She added that Federal Minister Syed Naveed Qamar is in Brussels and doing a good lobbying work which will be useful for Pakistan. Talking about the areas identified by the LCCI, she said that the scope under GSP Plus Status to Pakistan has not been utilized. It is confined to textile sector which should be spread to the other sectors as well.
“The floods played a havoc and it is a difficult time for Pakistan,” she said, adding that EU members countries have extended assistance in this regard. She said that EU commissioners are distributing aid in Sindh and other flood-affected areas. “The assistance will be upgraded with the passage of time”, she added. She said that Pakistan needs to develop infrastructure in order to curtail the loss if catastrophe-like situation born in future.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar extended deepest gratitude to the European Union for expressing solidarity with the people of Pakistan affected by the worst floods and extending financial assistance of 123 Million Euros as well as in-kind assistance for flood relief efforts. He also appreciated the EU’s commitment to address the climate change related challenges jointly.
He appreciated the fact that European Union has been welcoming the progress made by Pakistan in the implementation of FATF Action Plans and now, when Pakistan has been excluded from the grey list, “we thank EU for all the support extended during the process.”
Kashif Anwar said that GSP Plus status holds paramount importance for Pakistan’s Economy as it has played an important role in expansion of multilateral trade. According to the trade statistics from ITC World Trade map, Pakistan’s exports to EU, which were around 6.2 billion dollars in 2013, have increased over the time to 9.7 billion dollars in 2021, primarily due to the deeper markets access provided by European Union under GSP plus.
The LCCI President added that European Union is the biggest destination for Pakistan’s exports as more than 30 percent of our exports reach EU market. The business community is well aware that the EU continuously monitors GSP Plus beneficiary countries’ effective implementation of the 27 international conventions on especially human rights, labour rights, environmental protection and good governance etc.
He said that European Union has also been benefiting from GSP Plus as it has enabled the businesses in EU to import high quality textile items from Pakistan at competitive prices. Furthermore Pakistan’s imports from EU also increased from 4.4 billion dollars in 2013 to 6.4 billion dollars in 2021 as the textile industry in Pakistan has been importing machinery from the EU.
The LCCI President said that the increased multilateral trade through GSP plus means more jobs, reduction in poverty, better working conditions, promotion of sustainable policies and improvement of the macro-economic indicators of Pakistan. In this context, the extension of GSP Plus for Pakistan holds great significance for economy. A strong EU-Pakistan relationship, with GSP plus at its core will certainly augment Pakistan’s economic and social development including poverty reduction, human development, environmental protection, good governance and women empowerment etc.
Kashif Anwar said that significant percentage of female workers in Pakistan is engaged with textile sector. The continuity of GSP Plus Status for coming years will surely secure their occupation, economic independence and empowerment.
He said that the enhanced trade partnership with the EU through GSP Plus has empowered the private sector in Pakistan to focus much more on labor rights and improve working conditions.
He apprised the Ambassador of some of the major steps taken by Pakistan in the context of GSP Plus. He apprised of the legislation on the protection of women’s and children’s rights, the protection of transgender persons, as well as the protection of journalists. He said that in environment sector, Pakistan has achieved Sustainable Development Goal 13 “Climate Action Target” 10 years ahead of time. He said that for Interfaith Harmony, National Commission on Minorities has been established. In Labor Rights, a good progress has been made in “Better work Pakistan Program” in collaboration with and co-funding from International Labor Organization, Export Development Fund and European Union. Over 100,000 children have been enrolled in schools from brick kilns families.
“Another factor is worth mentioning that GSP plus has also resulted in significant development of the textile industry in Pakistan which now provides employment to about 40 percent of industrial labor force and contributes more than 60 percent to national exports,” he added.
He informed the Ambassador that in October 2021, it was discussed with Ambassador of that time Androulla Kaminara that current GSP plus scheme will expire in December 2023 and the European Commission is revamping the GSP plus by adding several new conventions pertaining to human rights, labour rights and governance etc. “We are extremely hopeful of becoming a part of the new generation GSP plus scheme (2024 to 2034) and focus more on SMEs, medium to hi-tech industries, especially related to the Engineering sector in Pakistan for enhancing our exports to EU,” he added.
He said that LCCI is striving to help the SME sector and women entrepreneurs to realize their export potential under GSP Plus. Pakistan’s exports to EU are heavily dominated by Textiles and clothing products which account for more than 75 percent of Pakistan’s exports to EU. There is a need for greater product diversity in Pakistan’s exports to EU, particularly in value-added products which would allow Pakistan to multiply its benefit of GSP Plus.
LCCI Senior Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Mahmood said that some potential areas where Pakistan can enhance its exports to EU were highlighted like engineering goods, leather products, furniture, carpets, surgical instruments, sports goods and rice etc. “We look forward to getting your support to be able to increase exports of agro based processed foods to EU in collaboration with European companies through joint ventures and transfer of technology,” he added.
LCCI Vice President Adnan Khalid said some discussions have been held in recent meetings between European Union and Pakistan for enhancing cooperation in education, culture, science & technology as well as connectivity and digitalization, agriculture, food security, and quality standards. There is a need to avail the business opportunities in these areas, he said and added that they are also keen that Pakistan should benefit from EU’s Global Gateway, the new 300 billion Euros co-investment strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world.