BRUSSELS (MNN); Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met European Council President Antonio Costa on Wednesday to discuss the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) arrangement ahead of its scheduled review later this month.
Pakistan received GSP+ status in 2014, which resulted in a 108 percent rise in textile exports to the European Union due to reduced tariffs. In October 2023, the European Parliament unanimously extended the scheme for developing nations, including Pakistan, until 2027, granting continued duty-free or minimal-duty access for most exports.
The upcoming monitoring mission, earlier postponed from June because of the Iran–Israel conflict, will assess Pakistan’s implementation of 27 international conventions linked to the trade facility.
According to the Foreign Office, Dar’s meeting with Costa in Brussels covered GSP+, expanding trade and economic cooperation, and regional and global security. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to multilateral engagement and expressed satisfaction over the positive trajectory of Pakistan-EU relations. Dar also appreciated the EU’s consistent support at bilateral and multilateral forums.
Dar arrived in Belgium earlier in the day after attending the SCO summit in Moscow. During his three-day stay, he will participate in the seventh Pakistan-EU Strategic Dialogue, the highest institutional mechanism governing bilateral relations. He will co-chair the session at the invitation of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas.
The dialogue will evaluate cooperation under the Pakistan-EU Strategic Engagement Plan 2019. Dar will also join the fourth EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum and hold several bilateral meetings with EU officials and foreign ministers.
Dar’s visit marks a significant step in advancing Pakistan’s broader partnership with the EU. Upon arriving in Brussels, he wrote on X that he looked forward to engaging with EU leadership and parliamentarians.
The Foreign Office also reported Dar’s engagements during the SCO summit in Moscow. He met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with both sides expressing satisfaction over the positive direction of bilateral ties and pledging deeper coordination at the UN and SCO.
Dar further held discussions with the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, exchanged views with Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and met officials from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to discuss enhanced cooperation within the SCO framework.
