ISLAMABAD: European Union (EU) Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara has said that the EU has some concerns regarding freedom of expression, forced disappearances and human rights issues in Pakistan.
While speaking on Star News Pakistan programme Live With Sehar Kamran hosted by Senator Sehar Kamran, Ambassador of European Union to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara said that bilateral trade is the mandate of the European Union (EU) and not the member states. Member states of the EU cannot draft the bilateral trade agreement. The Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP- Plus) status applies to all EU members and it allows exports to the 27 member states.
“The last two-year report (2018-19) was issued in February 2020. Pakistan’s performance report (for the years 2020 and 2021) is under compilation these days. Therefore, the further decision for the extension of this status to Pakistan, with effect from Jan 1, 2024, will be made after reviewing this report,” Ambassador Kaminara said.
EU envoy further added that the 632 members of the EU parliament requested the EU Commission to look into the details of progress achieved by Pakistan in the implementation of UN Conventions. “If progress was not enough, EU Commission may suspend the GSP+ to Pakistan,” she said.
“Countries availing the GSP+ are evaluated every 2 years to examine the progress made in the implementation of UN conventions,” she further added.
She said the EU wanted the implementation of UN conventions, including freedom of expression, by Pakistan. “We are closely watching the freedom of expression situation in Pakistan.”
Ambassador said the European Union (EU) was keen on strengthening trade ties with Pakistan and urged upon the businessmen to play a proactive role for the implementation of all the conventions of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP- Plus) enabling Pakistan to avail full benefits.
EU envoy said the EU had been supporting Pakistan’s Small and Media Enterprises (SMEs) sector to facilitate them in increasing their share of exports. “We have recently set up EU Pakistan Business Forum for SMEs to help them interact with their counterparts in Europe,” she added. Currently, 75 to 80 per cent of Pakistan’s export to EU countries is textiles, then leather and shoes.
Androulla Kaminara said after the signing of the Strategic Engagement Plan between the EU and Pakistan, new areas like cultural exchanges, education, information technology and knowledge exchange had been incorporated into it.
She said ties with Pakistan were multifaceted and “we are working on several issues.” She said on the international level the EU was working with Islamabad on climate change and promoting relevant decisions at the UN system. Within the country, she said, the EU worked on issues of trade and business among others.
Ambassador Kaminara has also recognised the critical role of Pakistan in bringing peace in Afghanistan and the safe evacuation of its nationals from there. She said over the last couple of months, there had been several meetings between representatives of the EU and individual members of EU states with Pakistani authorities mainly on the situation arising out of Afghanistan. “In view of the situation in Afghanistan, there has been a drastic increase in engagement not just with Afghanistan but also with Pakistan because of its strategic position,” she added.
She appreciated Pakistan’s stance that the government in Kabul must be inclusive and women should also be given representation.
The EU ambassador said the bloc had been following the regional developments very closely after the take-over of Kabul by the Taliban, adding the EU was interested in respect of human rights, an inclusive government in Afghanistan. Androulla Kaminara said the EU had provided 57 million Euros in aid to Afghanistan since the beginning of this year.
Besides, the EU had announced to quadruple this amount, and in the last month additional one hundred million Euros were announced for the war-ravaged country. She also acknowledged Pakistan role in hosting Afghan refugees.
Sharing her travel experience in Pakistan, she said, I have been lucky enough to visit some stunning parts of Balochistan, Sindh, KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Punjab but my travels were stopped over the last five months due to COVID-19.
The envoy said Pakistan was an amazing region for tourism as it offered so much diversity in terms of weather, landscape, biodiversity and a rich cultural heritage, with hospitable and welcoming people.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is confident that despite all conspiracies of India, Pakistan will get GSP Plus status for another 10 years which will provide financial benefits of more than $4 billion to Pakistan annually.
GSP is an entrenched trade and development policy instrument, in place since 1971. Pakistan is the major recipient of the GSP+ scheme for the last seven years. Under this status – set to expire on Dec 31, 2023 – there is zero per cent duty on several products.
