Minister to lobby for GSP plus in Eastern Europe

E-Paper | May 03, 2026

ISLAMABAD: In what appears to be a self-contradiction, the ministry of commerce has said to have launched a fresh round of economic diplomacy to ensure a favourable majority in the European Parliament for the grant of generalised system of preferences (GSP) plus facility for Pakistan.

Top officials of the ministry had said at a press conference on Nov 6 that the GSP plus scheme had been approved by the European Parliament, but the claim proved to be wrong. The European Parliament will meet next month to approve the GSP plus scheme for three years for Pakistan and nine other countries.

The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that Minister of State for Commerce, Textiles and Privatisation Khurram Dastgir Khan had left for Eastern Europe to begin a fresh round of economic diplomacy.

An official said that the ministry had confused the blockade of a proposal in the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament seeking de-clubbing of 10 member countries selected for the GSP plus scheme with the approval of the scheme.

According to experts, it is not clear whether it was an intentional move or the ministry did not understand the nature of the decision of the trade committee which rejected the de-clubbing proposal.

Some European countries were against the decision of Brussels to treat all 10 countries as one for the GSP plus scheme and wanted to seek a vote on the basis of individual country because some of them were believed to have problems with Pakistan.

According to a source, the decision for grant of GSP plus will be taken by the council of ministers / European parliament.

According to the ministry’s statement, the visit of the minister of state to Eastern Europe follows a successful round of economic diplomacy in October at the European Parliament in Strasbourg as well as in Paris, Madrid, Rome and London.

By engaging friendly countries across Europe, “we shall Insha Allah achieve the formal grant of GSP+ in December”, it said.

The immediate objective of the minister’s minister visit to Eastern Europe is to ensure a smooth vote in favour of Pakistan by the EU Parliament.

Follow Dawn Business on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Our readers are at the heart of everything we do.
Do you have a thought to share or a way we can improve? We’d love to hear it. Reach out to us at feedback@dawn.com.

Business

PM Shehbaz orders formulation of strategy to stabilise electricity tariffs

Inflation hits double digits for first time in 21 months

South Korea agrees to accelerate CEPA talks

Shahmeer

Nov 23, 2013 01:26am

Once the council of ministers has approved it, the european parliament really doesn't have much of a say. Additionally, the Council of Ministers follows a different voting pattern, so there might not really be a need to lobby in Eastern Europe as long as major Western European countries approve it.

Recommend 0

Branded Content

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expands climate action with one Million Tree Drive and forest reforms

The province is turning policy into action through a series of large scale programmes aimed at rebuilding ecosystems and improving resilience against rising climate pressures.

Taptap Send, Arshad Nadeem partner to highlight Pakistan’s unsung champions

The initiative comes at a time when cricket continues to dominate national attention, often overshadowing achievements in other sports.

NexGen Auto (Nishat Group) to Introduce iCAUR in Pakistan

As one of Pakistan’s leading business groups, Nishat Group operates across key sectors including textiles, cement, banking, insurance, power and agriculture.