KARACHI, Dec 20: The European Union will provide all types of economic assistance to Pakistan, including 100 million euros, for poverty alleviation, Belgian Ambassador in Islamabad Igor Haustrate said here on Thursday.
Speaking at a meeting, organized by the English Speaking Union of Pakistan (ESUP), the Belgian envoy, who is also the head of the EU mission in Islamabad, said that after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Pakistan had got a chance to improve its economic condition.
He said Pakistan had assessed two billion dollars’ economic losses as a consequence of the Afghan war and that the EU had sent a mission to provide assistance to the country.
The much-delayed economic cooperation agreement had been signed after government’s assurance that it would restore democracy in the country in 2002, he said, adding that besides the economic assistance, there was a separate economic aid or loan remissions regime by member states.
Mr Haustrate said the EU had also pledged assistance to Islamabad in seeking new loans and rescheduling the existing loans. Pakistan, he added, would also be benefited from the humanitarian assistance for Afghan refugees, as 10 per cent of the total 353 million euros would be received by the country for the Afghans living in its different cities.
The EU envoy stated that the EU had increased market access of Pakistani products in the European market by increasing 15 per cent duty-free quota of the country’s textile products. More concessions have also been provided in the general system of preferences under which for three years all barriers for import of certain items from Pakistan would be removed.
“These measurers are being considered as model for the US to follow because Pakistan is facing difficulties in getting similar concessions from the US”, Mr Haustrate said, adding that in the longer terms, Pakistan would also benefit from the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
He said the EU would play its role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan after the installation of a new government there.
He hoped that the situation would be clear after the Tokyo Conference to be held in January. “We support central role of United Nations in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.”—APP