KARACHI: German Ambassador in Pakistan, Alfred Grannas said that Germany is willing to further expand its trade and economic relations with Pakistan and German Embassy will extend full cooperation in enhancing B2B linkages.
He apprised President FPCCI Irfan Iqbal Sheikh that Germany wants to expand technical & vocational training programs for Pakistan; more scholarships to study in Germany; facilitation in market access and socioeconomic uplift.
Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, President FPCCI, has expressed his satisfaction that Pakistan’s bilateral trade surplus with Germany has crossed psychological mark of $1 billion and there are clear indications that Pakistani exports are on a growth trajectory with the world’s fourth largest economy and the largest in Europe with a GDP of $4.5 trillion.
He added that the sheer size of Germany’s economy makes it one of the most important destinations for Pakistan to prioritize for trade & industrial cooperation.
President FPCCI noted that exports of $2.5 billion are still way too below the real potential as there is huge demand of Pakistani textiles in Germany.
It is pertinent to note that, in this regard, he has held a detailed, high-profile and fruitful meeting with German Ambassador in Pakistan, Alfred Grannas. “We discussed new avenues and expansion of the current export segments to scale-up the trade & economic relations.”
FPCCI President highlighted the fact that Germany is one of the very few countries in the world with which Pakistan enjoys a trade surplus.
He expressed his desire to hold single-country exhibition with Germany and requested the ambassador to grant visas to Pakistani businessmen on softer terms.
Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said that FPCCI is hopeful that Pakistan will get GSP+ status renewed for 10 years and this time it will be GSP++ or GSP+ 2.0 as hinted at an earlier occasion few months back by Androulla Kaminara, EU’s former Ambassador for Pakistan.
Irfan highlighted that the key to enhancing exports to Germany lies in maintaining quality at all costs, exploring unconventional product categories, expanding the share of services’ sectors in Pakistani exports to Germany.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022