The Pakistan Minister of State for Commerce, Textile & Privatization, Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, has successfully concluded his visit to Eastern European countries with his last stop at Poland where he met with Deputy Trade Minister Danuta Sojka-Andrzejewska and Undersecretary of State Foreign Affairs Katarzyna Kacperczyk, who assured support to the country for attaining the European Union (EU) Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Textile Industry, as part of the efforts to gain the GSP+ status from EU, which would provide a boost to the country’s exports, including textiles, the Minister had embarked on a visit to Eastern European countries to ensure a favorable majority in the European Union (EU) Parliament in anticipation of a plenary vote in mid-December 2013.
During his visit to Poland, which has a large contingent of members in the EU Parliament, the Minister solicited support of the Polish Government for favorable votes.
Mr. Dastgir Khan said that he was delighted that Polish ministers and parliamentary leaders extended their fullest support to the grant of GSP+ status to Pakistan by the EU. The Government’s vision to find new trade partners for the country was also met with tremendous success during the meeting, he added.
Achieving GSP+ status from EU is likely to add US$ 700 million to US$ 1 billion to Pakistan’s overall exports, and create around 1 million new jobs in the country which would boost the textiles sector and improve the national economy.
The Minister visited the Eastern European countries of Romania, Czech Republic, and Poland, as they form a large block of votes in the EU Parliament.
