Trade Benefits: EU help to revive economy: Envoy

Pakistan's EU ambassador says EU had upgraded its relations with Pakistan at the summit level.

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Ambassador to European Union Jalil Abbas Jilani met Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani here on Saturday and said EU trade concessions on 75 items and subsequent grant of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus facility would help revive Pakistan’s economy, create jobs and attract investment. The prime minister, while appreciating EU’s assistance of more than 300 million euros for rehabilitation of flood victims, directed the ambassador to interact with the civil society and policymakers in European countries to apprise them of the huge losses suffered by the economy in the war against terror. The PM told the ambassador to highlight the bill recently passed by the National Assembly for protection of women rights. The ambassador assured the PM that he would project the soft image of Pakistan, adding the EU had upgraded its relations with Pakistan at the summit level and Pakistan was one of the few countries which enjoyed this status.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2011.