LAHORE: European Parliament is most likely to grant GSP Plus status to Pakistan in its forthcoming meeting scheduled for December 2013.
This was stated by Danish Ambassador to Pakistan Jesper Moller Sorensen while talking to LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. LCCI former Vice President Saeeda Nazar was also present on the occasion.
Pakistani exports to European Market would get a considerable boost as soon as the country gets GSP Plus status from EU parliament, the Ambassador said.
Appreciating the business opportunities in Pakistan, Jesper Moller Sorensen said that it is a lucrative market with enormous potential, moreover, low labor costs, rising middle class and a huge chunk of the population consisting of youth, made it an attractive destination for investment.
Showing a keen interest in strengthening bilateral trade relations with Pakistan, the Ambassador said, “Our goal is to increase Danish exports of goods to Pakistan by 40 percent over the next three years. Denmark aims to increase trade ties with Pakistan. To better assist Danish companies in Pakistani market, the Embassy of Denmark in Islamabad will open a commercial section later this year.”
He said that Denmark could provide state-of-the-art technology to Pakistan for Energy conservation, Water Conservation, Water Pumping and Water Purification to help it overcome challenges in these areas.
Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar said that Pakistan, despite its challenges, has a great market potential, and Danish businesses have strong grasps in areas such as wind, life science and health, energy efficiency and dairy production. We wish to expand our relations by expanding trade and business.
“Pakistan is a country with a very strong livestock base. Danish dairy is famous worldwide. Transfer of technology in this area will certainly benefit us. Pakistan is the 5th largest milk producing country in the world therefore investment in dairy products will unquestionably yield results.”