Ambassador of Netherland, Robert-Jan Siegert’s Call on Federal Minister for Commerce and Secretary Commerce
Islamabad : Ambassador of the Netherlands informed that he has presented his credentials and is very happy to be in Pakistan. He found Pakistan very warm and welcoming. Bureaucracy as well as the political leadership are quite accessible, and he foresees healthy interaction.
Federal Minister for Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan welcomed the Ambassador and wished him success for his assignment in Pakistan. Minister stated that while looking at the bilateral trade he notices immense room for diversification. There is huge potential to enhance the exports of agricultural and food products from Pakistan. There is a lot that can be explored to improve productivity as well as quality.
Rice is an important crop as well as a key export sector of Pakistan including exports to the Netherlands. The Minister also underscored the importance and potential of Services sector. Given the youth bulge that Pakistan has, services sectors can surpass goods exports very easily and in a lesser time, Minister emphasized. Commerce Minister also applauded the Netherlands-based Jazz Telecom and its role in Digital Financial Integration of rural population.
The Ambassador also mentioned that they are discussing dates for starting a formal round of discussion to explore new areas and opportunities of coordination and bilateral interaction. With reference to the upcoming GSP Monitoring Mission’s visit, he hoped this interaction to improve relations between EU and Pakistan.
Minister for Commerce, Jam, Kamal mentioned that after 18th Amendment many subjects have been shifted to provinces, however Ministry of Commerce is coordinating and sensitizing all the stakeholders in this regard.
Secretary Commerce, Jawad Paul explained that EU has just one scheme of interaction with Pakistan that is GSP plus. He assured that Pakistan is committed to fulfilling all the obligations considering it in its own benefit to do so.
Secretary Commerce also raised the issues of EUs removal of the concessions on ethanol. He explained that Pakistan’s industry feels that they have been hard done by. The industry association has appealed to EU in this regard. Secretary requested the ambassador to take their appeal into consideration. He further mentioned that the application for GI of Basmati Rice has been filed by both India and Pakistan. Indian claim for exclusive right of Basmati is neither supported by history nor literature. Secretary also mentioned that exports of rice from Pakistan to the Netherlands regardless of the variety have a huge potential that is being underutilized.
The Dutch Ambassador mentioned that previously Dutch companies were facing hardship in repatriation of their dividends, but the issue has now been resolved with the cooperation of stakeholders in Pakistan. He was optimistic that improved macroeconomic conditions will win confidence of the foreign investors
Minister of Commerce also mentioned that Pakistan is working to expand its Dairy and meat sector and to enhance its exports in these two commodities. He requested the Dutch Ambassador, if there can be a possibility of technology sharing between Netherlands and Pakistan in these sectors, to which the Ambassador assured that there are several projects, particularly drone-assisted efficient water management that can be helpful for Pakistan and he showed his full commitment and support in this regard.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
