ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday expressed the country’s commitment to work closely with the European Union to enhance trade and economic ties, especially through the GSP+ status.
PM Sharif made the remarks during a meeting with the EU’s Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis, who called on him in Islamabad on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
According to the European Union, GSP+ status is a special incentive granted to developing countries to encourage sustainable development and good governance by eliminating import duties on roughly two-thirds of their export tariff lines.
Countries that benefit from this status are required to implement 27 international conventions covering human rights, labour rights, good governance and environmental protection.
The prime minister welcomed the EU ambassador and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthen cooperation with the European Union across all areas of mutual interest, especially in trade, investment, development, security, migration and climate change.
“The prime minister emphasised the critical role of the GSP+ scheme in enhancing trade between Pakistan and the EU, and said the government of Pakistan is committed to working closely with the EU on mutually beneficial trade enhancement initiatives, especially through the GSP+,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the European Union ambassador expressed his gratitude to the prime minister for the warm reception he has received since arriving in Pakistan and assured him that he will continue to work diligently to deepen Pakistan-EU relations across all areas of cooperation.
He also conveyed warm greetings from EU leadership and affirmed that the European Union will remain closely engaged with Pakistan to boost trade under the GSP+ framework, as well as through trade-promotion initiatives such as the first-ever EU-Pakistan Business Forum, scheduled for April.
Pakistan was first granted GSP+ status by the EU in 2014, a move that led to a significant rise in Pakistani textile exports to the European market due to concessional tariff treatment.
In October 2023, the European Parliament unanimously voted to extend the GSP+ scheme until 2027 for developing countries, including Pakistan, allowing them to continue benefiting from duty-free or reduced-duty access to the EU market.
