Germany assures Pakistan of continued support on ATP

04 Sep, 2012

German Parliamentary State Secretary for Economic Cooperation and Development, Gurdun Kopp told this to Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, in a meeting held in Berlin, Germany.

The two sides discussed ways and means to further promote bilateral relations in various fields including trade and investment, agriculture, renewable energy, transport and health.

It was noted with satisfaction that Germany was Pakistan's largest trading partner in Europe and the volume of bilateral trade had risen steeply to US $ 2.5 billion in the recent years.

The two, however, agreed that trade between the two countries was below its real potential. They discussed ways and means to increase bilateral trade to its full potential.

Both sides expressed satisfaction that the new bilateral investment treaty which was signed in 2009 had now been ratified by both the sides.

Foreign Minister Khar thanked Germany for its support for enhanced market access for Pakistani goods into EU markets. She said that the challenge of terrorism could be best addressed by creating more jobs and economic opportunities for the youth, which constituted 60 per cent of Pakistan 's population.

Pakistan Foreign Minister also urged State Secretary Kopp to resume Lufthansa's flights to Pakistan.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2012

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