LAHORE: The European (EU) commission on Trade team is set for arrival in Pakistan on Thursday to directly authenticate all stakeholders’ conformity with the EU conditions on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP).
During its visit to Pakistan, the delegation will collect basic visual data for extension of the duty-free exports’ facility being provided to the country, reports Dawn.
European Union Ambassador Jean-Francois Cautain said Pakistan hasn’t yet enacted all the twenty-seven international conventions it has signed and finalized.
For the continuation of this GSP+ facility, enactment is necessary of all the conventions signed and finalized, said Mr Cautain.
He added, “So far, the glass is half full and half empty.”
According to Mr Cautain, the visiting EU trade delegation will be in Pakistan for around a week and will meet government officials, trading community, media personnel mainly in Lahore and Islamabad.
The delegation would seek responses to questions already forwarded to all the stakeholders regarding the implementation of the 27 conventions.
The weeklong visit of the EU commission on Trade delegation would allow them to get feedback which would constitute as a part of the final report to be published in 2020, which would decide the extension of GSP+ status for Pakistan.
Citing examples of the implementation the EU was seeking, Mr Cautain said Punjab made laws on child rights, but they sought its full enforcement.
He added, “We are witnessing a tendency to restrict freedom of expression in Pakistan for the past one year. They are promising legislation on torture but are not moving ahead.”
In response to a question, Mr Cautain answered that around 60 percent of the country’s population was under 30 years of age and highlighted that if it was educated it could Pakistan a prosperous nation.
He shared between 20 to 24 million children in the country were out of school and stressed that quality education should be provided from the primary level.
Moreover, Mr Cautain added that technical vocational training should constitute a major part of education to provide the required human resource to Pakistan.
