The EU Ambassador Jean Francois Cautain on Thursday visited Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) and appreciated Punjab Government for the steps it took for sustainable development and economic progress.
Provincial Minister Tahir Khalil Sindhu and PBIT CEO Haroon Shaukat received the EU Ambassador along with senior officials. Haroon Shaukat briefed the visiting envoy about the progress made by the Government of Punjab in terms of development and highlighted the prospects of future increase of exports to the EU.
EU Ambassador said that public and private sectors of Pakistan would have to work together to take full advantage of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status granted till 2023.
Due of GSP plus, Pakistani exports have been increased by 78% to EU. That is moving towards win-win situation for both, he added.EU Ambassador also emphasized that 27th convention should fully be implemented for helping the citizens Pakistan.
Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Tahir Khalil Sindhusaid that Pakistan’s global image does not fully depict the country’s potential and a complete rebranding of the country is needed in the eyes of international investors.
CEO PBIT stated that despite the fact that EU Commission granted GSP plus status to Pakistan, the potential benefits of this scheme could not be fully materialized. We look forward to finding more and more opportunities of market penetration in other countries of EU, he said and stressed the need for exploiting the potential by exporting agro-based processed foods to EU in collaboration with European companies through joint ventures and transfer of technology.
Haroon Shaukat said that Pakistan is ranked in the list of top 10 countries that are introducing reforms for ease of doing business. “We are focusing on three major steps: terrorism, law and order and energy infrastructure. And the situation on all three fronts is improving,” Haroon added.
He told that PBIT is organising a mega event to attract foreign investors in Punjab. The “International Seminar on Business Opportunities in Punjab” will introduce Punjab as an investment hub and will aim to share several success stories from within Pakistan to the international community. EU Ambassador assured that they will help to make “International Seminar on Business Opportunities in Punjab” a successful event. The meeting ended with vote of thanks.