‘CPEC no threat to British interests’

UK high commissioner talks about enhancing partnership, interest of UK firms

ISLAMABAD:

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is not a threat to British interests, said British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner. “I am always very clear about CPEC.

I don’t regard it as a threat to British interests,” said the envoy during an interview with The Express Tribune. He said that if investments under CPEC were done in a way that benefitted Pakistan it would be good for the business environment.

“If the CPEC investments are done in the right way in the benefit of Pakistan, there are good labour and environmental standards, transfer of knowledge and skill and projects don’t put too much debt,” he said. The high commissioner added that the deals should be beneficial for Pakistan, China and for partners like UK as well who are interested in taking part in some projects in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

“I am sure UK companies will participate,” Turner remarked. Regional connectivity On opening the border with India, the high commissioner said that it was difficult to answer it in the regional context. However, he added that a World Bank study suggested that trade across the border with India could unleash 30% growth in GDP of Pakistan.

He said that the basic observation was that for long-term prosperity and exclusive growth, Pakistan needed to have partnership in regional connectivity. The envoy said that the UK government supported Pakistan’s approach towards regional connectivity and Afghan peace process that would ultimately deliver jobs to millions of Pakistanis.

“Pakistan may create three million jobs in the region in a year,” he added. “We need more exports in the region to create jobs. This only comes with peace and new opportunity that comes through regional connectivity,” he said. “We should absolutely support regional economic connectivity that will drive job creation. Regional economic connectivity links back to peace and security.”

Addressing issues of child labour, human rights and freedom of speech, the British envoy said that these topics were important for the UK government and they were also related to the trade relationship, for instance the GSP Plus mechanism. “If you are looking for partnership with a British firm in Pakistan but are engaged in child labour, it would be incredibly damaging,” he said, adding that as Pakistan looked to drive more exports, the companies should be looking to give assurances that these issues were according to international standards.

GSP Plus review “I have confirmed that when we leave the EU, which we plan after December 31, the GSP Plus terms we have with the EU will be simply rolled over and they will be carried on and applied to UK trade,” he said. Talking about Brexit, Turner said that the move would empower Britain to sign a bilateral trade deal.

“We are confident that we can build on the current level of £3 billion worth of trade with Pakistan and take it to the next level.” He said that Britain’s exit from the EU was not likely to have any negative impact on trade between Pakistan and the UK. “I think it creates more opportunity for relations between the two countries.”

Pak-UK relationship The relationship between Pakistan and the UK is built on people-to-people contacts. “So, Pakistan and the UK are big markets. Therefore, air links matter much to us,” he added. Talking about the arrival of Virgin Atlantic, which started operations to Pakistan during the pandemic, he said that now they had 20 direct flights every week between the UK and Pakistan whereas 18 months ago there was no British airline. He said that Virgin Atlantic had come to Pakistan during a difficult time to connect Pakistan to the international market.

“There is real confidence in Pakistan and British air links create opportunities of trade and jobs to build Pakistan’s economy. Therefore, Virgin Atlantic cargo is as important as people’s flights.” He said that the textile industry in Pakistan was booming in the postlockdown period and Virgin Atlantic could tap the trade cargo potential, which would build partnership.

The high commissioner said that the UK government had a £1.5 billion export credit facility, which was a huge opportunity for Pakistani and British companies to work together to expand the trade potential in the aftermath of Covid-19. “Trade in 2020 was just £3 billion in service and exports plus imports and we have the potential to double it given the partnership, changing perception and Brexit.

These relations are going to deepen,” he added. Referring to the regulatory environment in Pakistan for foreign investors, Turner said, “Investors need good business environment.” “I particularly point to Pakistan government’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business ranking that is just one way of measuring environment. We support that effort,” he said. “There was a big improvement in the ranking last year.

The improvement continues as investors see their investment is secure and long-term certainty for their return.” He said that most investors that had made investment wanted a level playing field. “They want to know if there is a disagreement which almost happens, they will get a fair hearing and if there are disputes, results should be fair and transparent.”

He said that the UK was interested in working in the agriculture sector that had a strong base in Pakistan. “We can help grow, bring efficiency with technology for better crops,” he said, adding that they could also work on preserving fruits. “We can help in value addition, preservation and then exports at higher values.”

He said that Pakistan had set an ambitious target of increasing the share of renewable energy by 2030 and identified wind and solar energy for investment, which was cheaper than coal. He said that Pakistan had a good story to tell the international community about the economic environment. “There is a very difficult environment globally due to the pandemic. The leadership of economy in Pakistan has a difficult task of navigating the country through these stormy waters.