Pakistan, EU reaffirm commitment to stronger economic ties
Pakistan and European Union on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening economic partnership and exploring new avenues of cooperation between the two countries.
This came at a meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and newly appointed Ambassador of the European Union Raimundas Karoblis in Islamabad today.
During the meeting, both sides discussed matters of mutual interest, particularly focusing on enhancing economic cooperation and strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties between Pakistan and the European Union.
The finance minister encouraged European Union' companies to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan, especially in the oil and gas, mining and minerals, information technology and agriculture.
He further welcomed plans to activate the EU-Pakistan Business Forum and offered full support in this regard.
Aurangzeb said that Pakistan recently received positive assessments from all three leading global credit rating agencies, which are now well-aligned on Pakistan's economic outlook, reflecting growing confidence from bilateral partners, including the EU.
Highlighting the damages caused by floods, he said that federal and provincial governments are managing rescue and relief operations from their own resources.
The Minister said that damage assessment to crops, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure is being carried out by National Disaster Management Authority and through satellite imagery.
In his remarks, Raimundas Karoblis said over three hundred EU companies are currently operating in Pakistan across various sectors.
He expressed his commitment to further expanding bilateral trade and investment ties.
Terming GSP Plus regime as an instrumental in boosting Pakistan's exports to the EU, he said over thirty percent of Pakistan's exports destined for the EU market.
The Ambassador expressed his condolences on the loss of lives and damage to infrastructure caused by the floods in Pakistan.