Ambassador of European Union (EU) to Pakistan, Dr. Riina Kionka, Tuesday, advised business community of Karachi to broaden and diversify their exports to EU for taking maximum advantage of EU’s GSP Plus scheme for Pakistan which has recently been rolled over for four more years up to 2027.
The EU envoy, while exchanging views at a meeting during her visit to Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), said that EU’s GSP Plus for Pakistan has been rolled over without any changes to the rules framework so everything was going to stay the same up to 2027, said a statement issued here.
“GSP Plus has been extremely positive and useful in economic terms during the last 10 years as it helped in increasing Pakistan’s exports to EU by 108 percent while EU imports also ascended by 40 percent since the start of this program”, she added.
Riina Kionka termed GSP Plus as tremendously important for Pakistan’s economy as it was beneficial not only for textile producers but also through the trickle-down effect of all those people who work in textile factories.
While identifying Gems and Jewelry, Tourism, Handcrafts and Auto Parts etc. as potential sectors under GSP Plus, the EU Envoy noted that 28 percent of Pakistan’s exports come to European single market which was a good number but it could further be enhanced.
She informed that EU Delegation in Islamabad has been working to enhance Pakistan’s exports through better utilization of GSP Plus, diversifying exports, investing in value-addition, using new technologies and IT solutions for better access to EU Market, besides bringing in the SMEs who are the backbone of any economy.
She informed that EU’s delegation in Islamabad would also like to set up a platform to promote EU-Pakistan business-to-business relations which could also help the SMEs in making good connections with businesses in EU and ultimately help the SMEs in Pakistan to also benefit from GSP Plus.—APP
