After remarkable success of the first phase, the European Union (EU) is planning to extend the ongoing Trade-Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) program in Pakistan.
This was stated by European Union Ambassador in Pakistan Jan De Kok while addressing a two-day seminar on 'Developing Pakistan Trade Capacity', jointly organised by the European Commission (EC), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) and World Intellectual Property Organisation here on Tuesday.
The European Commission's technical assistance program, which had been launched in 2004, had helped Pakistan reduce cost of export related goods and enhance its trade capacity. The amount provided by EU is € 5 million (roughly Rs 410 million) with government contribution of € 1.1 million in kind (roughly Rs 90 million), and € 0.2 million (roughly Rs 10 million) from each of the program implementing agencies ie Unido and International Trade Centre (ITC).
"Pakistan's exporters will now be able to send their products for testing to local laboratories that are in the process of accreditation", he said, adding that at the same time, authorities in the EU would now have more confidence in the results of tests in local laboratories.
He said that TRTA program would allow Pakistan to better defend its interests in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) because its officials have now been trained to better understand the rules and functions of the WTO.
The implementation phase of the TRTA would be terminated by September 30, 2007 but in view of the successes achieved under the ongoing program, the EC is now looking forward to funding another TRTA to build on the interventions initiated in the current program, he added. The TRTA program was aimed at assisting Pakistan in its integration with the world economy, facilitating its engagement with the multilateral trading system, and ultimately contributing to poverty alleviation.
The program also helped in enhancing awareness among government officials, the business sector and civil society about the implications of the WTO agreements on the economy. The program had assisted Pakistan in capacity building to address technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary compliance requirements.