ISLAMABAD, Nov 28: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday sought support of the United Kingdom in initiation of talks on free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) to increase bilateral trade.
Talking to the UK Minister for Trade Ian McCartney the prime minister said Pakistan being an open economy was in a position to enter into such agreements and implement them effectively.
Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan was also present. The need for an FTA with the EU arose following the decision of European Commission (EC) to initiate talks on FTA with India, Pakistan’s main competitor in the EU market.
Mr Aziz asked the UK government to extend its support to Pakistan in this regard. The UK trade minister was leading a 10-member delegation, comprising representatives of London Stock Exchange, financial institutions and senior government officials to explore ways for promoting trade relations between the two countries.
According to an official announcement the prime minister said Pakistan was an emerging market with a vast potential for growth, rising consumer spending and robust industrial development.
The recent listing of Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) at London Stock Exchange and the forthcoming listing of Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) was a clear evidence of international acceptance of stability in Pakistan's industrial and financial sectors, he added.
Mr Aziz said as a result of the far-reaching reforms introduced by the government in every facet of life, Pakistan has been transformed into a country having high growth.
The reforms introduced for deregulation of the economy, transparent privatisation, and creation of a business-friendly environment, rationalisation of taxes and tariffs and transparency in the government transactions has restored the confidence of the investors and Pakistan received record Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during the last year.
He informed the delegation that Pakistan had made significant progress on the issue of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). A dedicated organisation has been set up to deal with the issue in a focused manner and “we are dealing with violations in a tough manner.”
The UK Trade Minister Ian McCartney said the banks and financial institutions of his country found the investment climate in Pakistan very conducive and a number of them were planning to expand their operations in Pakistan. He said the private sector companies were keen to invest in Pakistan in health care, financial and oil and gas sectors through joint ventures with Pakistani companies and on public private partnership basis.
Vice-Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Sir Thomas Harris said
that the British financial institutions were watching with great appreciation the economic transformation of Pakistan. He said the expansion in their operations in Pakistan by a number of foreign banks was an expression of their confidence in Pakistan's economic and banking sectors.
