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Saturday, June 05, 2010
Pakistan must wait for trade breaks: EU* EC president says Islamabad can expect increased access in one to three years
BRUSSELS: The European Union told Pakistan on Friday it could gain increased access to EU markets in one to three years but ruled out immediately granting Islamabad new trade concessions.
“I believe that we can in a relatively short period, one to three years ... advance in terms of market access to the European Union,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
He said this while addressing a joint news conference along with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy after they held talks with Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani at the second Pakistan-EU summit.
The two sides however did agree on a five-year plan to strengthen political, security, economic and development cooperation.
Both EU officials also announced that EU had agreed to increase its annual funding from 50 million euros to 75 million in 2011
Van Rompuy said Pakistan is facing complex challenges and assured that the EU would reinforce its cooperation with Pakistan to help its face all issues.
PM Gilani stressed that Pakistan has made sacrifices in human and economic terms in its fight against terrorism.
The EU officials also reiterated the importance of Pakistan and India normalising their relations and welcomed the resumption of a dialogue process. The joint statement also expressed the hope that the dialogue will help to resolve outstanding issues and build trust and confidence between the two neighbours.
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim also took part in the talks. saeed minhas
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk