KARACHI, April 6: British Deputy High Commissioner and Director UK Trade and Investment Hamish Daniel has said that if Pakistan is to meet the millennium development goals the apparent prosperity will have to find its way down to the millions of Pakistanis still living in abject poverty. Consequently, the United Kingdom is working closely with the government to support Pakistan’s poverty reduction strategy, and spending two million pounds over a three years period on economic reform, health care and education which are fundamental to employment and economic growth.

Addressing Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) members here on Wednesday, Mr Daniel said that to be successful partners we needed to understand each other. “The UK and Pakistan are fortunate to have large and active communities in each other’s countries.”

He disclosed that last year bilateral export trade between the countries grew by over 17 per cent and was worth 346 million pounds. “The UK is the second largest overseas investor in Pakistan, the fifth largest trading partner among OECD countries and there are some 77 British companies operating in Pakistan at the moment,” he added.

The UK envoy said that the last 12 months had seen a number of positive developments in our bilateral trade and investment — the British Airways resumed direct flights to Pakistan in December 2003 and in May last year ECGD reinstated medium-term cover for Pakistan.

He further said that British business interests in Pakistan continued to grow. The year of 2003 saw first British government sponsored trade mission to Pakistan for three years. This year there have been three including one from Glasgow for the Pakistan Expo at the beginning of February.

He said that bilateral trade was important but the full benefits of trade would only be realized when all nations were able to trade freely across the globe under agreed international trading rules. The UK, he said, has supported Pakistan on GSP+ scheme and on anti-dumping duty. “As president of the G8 and the EU this year the UK will work hard to ensure that we make further progress to achieve the development round for which we have been working,” he maintained.

Mr Daniel said that fairer trading rules and open markets will bring huge gains particularly to the developing world. But regional economic cooperation -– as the countries of Europe can testify – brings immense benefits too, he added.

Earlier in his address of welcome PHMA Chairman Aslam Ahmed Karsaz said that knitted apparel’s exports to European Union (EU) market has been greatly affected owing to the fact that Pakistan has not been allowed duty free structure in the European Union’s new GSP+ scheme.

He also drew the attention of the UK envoy towards the hardships being faced by genuine exporters in getting visas.