Ambassador of European Union (EU) to Pakistan Jean-Francois Cautain called on Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar here Thursday and exchanged views on enhancing Pak-EU economic cooperation. The Minister briefed the Ambassador about the reforms undertaken by the government, driven by the 4Es manifesto of the PML-N, a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance here said.
Dar said the economic stability achieved by Pakistan had been internationally recognised and after achieving stability, Pakistan was now on the path to growth and employment generation. The EU envoy appreciated the economic performance of Pakistan over the last two and a half years. Jean-Francois on the occasion said EU had close collaboration with Pakistan in different economic spheres. He cited the example of European Investment Bank (EIB) financing for Warsak Dam rehabilitation and Keyal Khwar power project and said EIB was now willing to invest more in Pakistan's energy sector.
The Finance Minister welcomed EIB's financing and sought investment in signature projects. He sought information about the extent and range of financing available with EIB for projects in Pakistan and said Pakistan could come up with viable projects to make best use of that financing. The European envoy discussed with the Finance Minister Pakistan's exports to the EU in the context of GSP plus status and said EU wanted to work with Pakistan to make best use of the facility.
The Finance Minister thanked the EU envoy for the GSP plus status and opined that Pakistan offered comparatively low labour cost which was already attracting international companies to relocate their business from other parts of the region to Pakistan. He said Pakistan provided opportunities and incentives to any European companies interested in investing in the country. Jean-Francois thanked the minister for receiving him for the meeting despite his hectic schedule, and said he would keep up efforts to strengthen Pak-EU cooperation. The Minister assured him of all out support in this regard. The meeting was attended by Secretary Economic Affairs Division and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.
Comments
Comments are closed.