UK trade envoy assures greater market access to Pak products

KARACHI: The UK Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Pakistan Rehman Chishti reiterated his government’s stance to maintain European Union’s GSP plus like trade cooperation with Pakistan after Brexit, a statement said on Friday.

Chishti met with senior government and trader officials during a recent visit to Karachi and Lahore “in order to encourage more trade between the two countries.”

“Chishti also met Pakistan’s minister of commerce Muhammad Pervaiz Malik, to reiterate the UK’s firm support to continue the preferential market access Pakistan receives under the EU’s GSP+ after the UK leaves the EU in 2019,” the statement added. British trade officials, as part of the United Kingdom’s efforts to improve trade ties with the emerging markets, have been seeking to boost global trade ties; following its last year vote to leave the European Union. Pakistani officials, also seeking a GSP-Plus like deal with post-Brexit Britain, viewed the UK leaving the EU will hit the country’s exports.

Chishti termed Pakistan as a “great place to do business”.

“It offers great opportunities in a variety of sectors and both our governments are ambitious to see more British trade and investment in Pakistan, as well as Pakistani businesses exporting to and operating in the UK,” the statement quoted the trade envoy, as saying. “We are committed to working with businesses in both the countries to strengthen these ties into the future.”

The UK is Pakistan’s biggest trade partner in Europe with bilateral trade closed to $2.18 billion in 2016.

Pakistan's exports were $1.557 billion against imports from the UK worth $0.610 billion. The balance of trade is in Pakistan’s favour.

The statement said Chishti met with Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair and chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to explore how the UK can assist in creating Britain’s investment opportunities.

“While he was in Karachi, he attended the launch of “Emerging Pakistan”, attended by the Prime Minister of Pakistan (Shahid Khaqan Abbasi), and hosted by the ministry of commerce.”

The UK trade envoy also met Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif to talk about the role UK expertise in engineering, infrastructure, energy, healthcare and professional services can play in providing solutions to furthering the region’s economic development. He later visited the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and met with business leaders.

“The trade envoy also visited the Safe Cities Authority in Lahore, which the UK supports, to witness the improvements being made to safeguarding security in Lahore,” the statement said.