Pakistan’s exports will swell after its exit from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list and expected removal from the European Union’s list of weak anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism regimes, hoped the chairman of a business body.
UK-Pakistan Joint Business Council Chairman Mian Kashif Ashfaq, while talking to Pak-British Friendship Council President North Zone Muhammad Arbab Khan on Thursday, pointed out that a couple of days ago, the EU lauded Pakistan’s progress on implementing the international conventions that were part of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus scheme.
“Also, a high-ranking diplomat of Pakistan, during his recent meeting with a high EU representative, discussed at length the GSP Plus scheme, which was mutually beneficial for both Pakistan and the European bloc,” he said.
Both sides agreed to further strengthen Pakistan-EU relations and remain connected with the established institutional mechanisms.
During the deliberations, Pakistan appreciated the humanitarian assistance of €133 million announced by the EU and its member states to help cope with the devastation caused by the recent climate-induced flash floods.
Pakistan’s diplomat urged the EU to remove the South Asian nation from its list of countries having strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering (AML)/ counter-financing of terrorism regimes after Islamabad’s exit from the FATF grey list.
Ashfaq revealed that the EU representative acknowledged Pakistan’s remarkable progress on completing the remaining two FATF action plans and gave assurances that Brussels would soon remove Pakistan’s name from the ranks of weak AML regimes. Arbab Khan emphasised that after extension in the GSP Plus status and removal of Pakistan from the weak AML regimes, exports of the country would get a boost.
He urged exporters to explore the hidden markets with active participation from trade missions abroad. He also asked the Trade Development Authority to hold exhibitions to showcase and promote high-quality products of Pakistan to woo international buyers.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2022.
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