European Union Ambassador to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara has stressed the need for product diversity and more value-addition to exploit the full potential of market access to the countries under the GSP Plus regime, Business Recorder reported on Friday.
She was talking to All Pakistan Business Forum President Syed Maaz Mahmood and General Secretary Khurram Niaz Khan in a meeting held on Thursday.
Both sides discussed the technical education, skills development, EU support for Pakistan in TVET sector, women entrepreneurship, and the role of the SME sector in economic growth.
The ambassador discussed various ideas for providing support to the freelancers in the IT sector, handicrafts and tourism, with the focus on creating linkages within the EU to open new markets for the products. The APBF and the EU agreed to work on women entrepreneurship, better labor laws, promotion of the SME sector, freelancers IT resource along with other projects.
Androulla Kaminara said that the EU is the biggest export market for Pakistani goods, as it accounts for about one-third of all Pakistani exports. She said the European Union fully backed Pakistan’s efforts to overcome the socioeconomic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and build back better for a more sustainable future.
The EU-Pakistan bilateral relations received a major boost when the Strategic Engagement Plan (SEP) was signed in June 2019 to further enhance engagement between the two sides, and address emerging global challenges, she added.
She said that the EU can assist Pakistan to expand its exports and uplift its industry through collaboration with the APBF by launching joint ventures in various sectors.
