UK desires to take trade up to £7 billion

HC counsellor says more investors want to explore Pakistan for investment

ISLAMABAD:

The United Kingdom is the third largest global trading partner of Pakistan and is keen to double its bilateral trade up to £7 billion in a few years to achieve mutual prosperity, remarked British High Commission’s Counsellor and Group Head on Economic and Trade Mahesh Mishra.

Talking to businessmen during his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Mishra said that as the third largest investor in Pakistan, the UK was uniquely placed to support Islamabad in transforming its economy while more investors from Britain wanted to explore the South Asian nation for joint ventures
and investment.

He said that around 1.6 million Pakistanis living in the UK were sending remittances of about $4.5 billion per annum and providing vital support to
Pakistan’s economy.

Pakistan had been placed in the Enhanced Framework in order to give it the same level of market access (preferential tariffs) for exports to the UK as was available under the European Union’s GSP Plus scheme.

He highlighted the UK’s development support to Pakistan in cooperation with the World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank for the economic reform programmes. Mishra affirmed that he would love to work with the private sector of Pakistan to strengthen bilateral trade ties between the two countries.

ICCI President Muhammad Shakeel Munir said that the bilateral trade was still below the actual potential of the two countries, which could be improved with strong mutual efforts by the private sectors of both countries.

Munir stressed that Pakistan was an attractive market and UK investors should come with technology transfer to capitalise on the opportunities.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2022.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.