March 06, 2007	Tuesday	Safar 16, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, March 5: British High Commissioner Robert Brinkley has said the ban imposed on PIA by European Union member countries was not meant to build economic pressure on Pakistan.

Addressing the members of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Monday, he said flying of some PIA aircraft to the EU had been banned because the European Union Aviation Safety Committee was not satisfied with the maintenance procedures of Pakistan’s national flag carrier. He said PIA had been cautioned a year ago for proper maintenance of its aircraft.

He said UK wanted to establish long-term relations with Pakistan expanding its current trade and diplomatic ties. The high commissioner said trade between Pakistan and the UK was gradually increasing that indicated good growth dynamics.

He said during the recent visit of British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Pakistan, a 10-year partnership agreement was signed that would help boost trade between the two countries.

He said Britain was one of the largest investing countries in Pakistan and about 100 British companies were working here and more were interested in doing business with Pakistani companies.

Regarding British visas, he said two changes had been made for the issuance of all types of visas. These are the digital scanning of fingerprints and tuberculosis tests for those who intended to stay for more than six months in the UK.

He said these requirements would slightly delay the visa process, adding that Pakistan was 63rd among 150 countries where these procedures would be introduced.

President ICCI Nasir Khan said Pakistan and Britain had traditional relations rooted in historical association. He said many British companies were reaping the fruits of liberal investment policy of Pakistan. He invited British companies to invest in the areas of infrastructure development such as rail roads, telecommunication, highways, farm to market roads, water security, financial services, engineering, energy and IT.

He said EU had shown interest in signing a free trade agreement with India and had refused the same arrangements with Pakistan. He said a free trade agreement with India would badly hurt Pakistan’s exports to the EU market.