Pakistan offers Sri Lankan investors GSP+ benefits

Pakistan says its GSP + status could be utilized for the benefit of Sri Lankan businesses investing in that country. Visiting Pakistani Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan also told Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe during a meeting in Temple Trees on Tuesday that his government was ready to allocate space in its Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to Sri Lankan investors with the concessions and benefits that zone investors get. The minister was accompanied by High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka Syed Shakeel Hussain and a high level official delegation. In a media release issued by the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo, Mr. Khan has underlined that Sri Lanka enjoys the exceptional position of being the first country with which Pakistan entered into a Free Trade Agreement in 2002 “which is reflective of the trust that Pakistan has in Sri Lanka’s economic potential”. He expressed the hope of expanding the bilateral FTA through the inclusion of services and investments in its ambit. The Commerce Minister requested the Prime Minister to ease visa facilities and issue multiple visas to Pakistani businessmen and investors to facilitate their travel to Sri Lanka on regular basis. “The Minister also informed the Prime Minister that Pakistan, with more than 50 sugar mills and ability to produce sugar machinery, is in a position to invest in Sri Lanka to develop its sugar sector. The two sides also agreed to further strengthen the bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries especially in cement, sugar, higher education and pharmaceutical sectors,” the release said. While appreciating Pakistan’s support to Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Prime Minister said that Pakistan has been extending all support to Sri Lanka at bilateral and international forums, and welcomed the prospects of Pakistani investments in cement and sugar sectors and assured his governments support to promote the bilateral trade. Tomorrow (Wednesday), the visiting Minister will participate in the first official high level ‘Business Interaction Forum’ between the two countries organised by the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka, the release said.