Chairman Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) Ijaz A Khokhar has urged the government to send an officer of Ministry of Commerce/Textile industry to join Pakistan representative in WTO Geneva for the second WTO meeting on EU trade concessions to Pakistan.
He said Qasim Muhammad Niaz, Economic Minister in Brussels who already got approved the concessions and has full information in this regard would be a right choice for the job. Qasim had already got approved the concessions and has full knowledge of the case in question, he added.
According to him, the case is being represented by the Pakistani ambassador in United Nations Shahid Bashir, but regretfully due to his negligence there is every possibility that the resultant concessions to allow import in European Union of Pakistan goods are reviewed. It is unfortunate that there was a very simple question raised not replied properly by this gentleman. Now a second meeting of WTO is going to take place on January 31 and the stakeholders fear that Shahid Bashir who has not pleaded the case properly in the first meeting, therefore, a replacement should immediately be sent to Geneva.
It may be noted that after much struggle by Pakistan the EU realised the sacrifices of Pakistan in war against terrorism and recent flood ravages and decided to relax access for 75 different textile commodities from Pakistan to their market from January 1, 2011. But the EU deferred this for next three months, as Indian lobby at EU was so effective and influential that they forced EU to hold the decision over this relaxation to Pakistan. He said it is a complete failure of our officials performance in WTO.