Pakistan's new PM in UK for his first bilateral visit in office

Last week Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan was in the UK for a series of meetings with senior members of the UK government for his first official bilateral visit since taking office. The official statement on the visit stated that:

"The UK and Pakistan have a long history of working closely and effectively together as members of the Commonwealth. The UK’s large diaspora population of Pakistani origin has made a significant contribution to British cultural and economic life. Both countries are committed to broadening their relations across many areas."

According to Number 10, "the visit continued the development of the close relationship between the two countries."

Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Pakistan and the UK continue to work together to strengthen the security and prosperity of both our countries. We share deep historical links and a vibrant British Pakistani community. In today’s meeting we committed ourselves to building on this relationship over the coming years."

During the visit it was announced that there was an agreement to open a new Deputy High Commission in Lahore. The new Trade and Investment, and Cultural and Education Roadmaps were also released. The former of these included the target of increasing bilateral trade to £3 billion by 2015.

Good news for UK-Pakistan trade

Britain and Pakistan

In the pre-Christmas rush, it was easy to miss a couple of bits of good news regarding the UK's trade with Pakistan. The first came with the EU Parliament voting for the Generalised System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) for Pakistan. This came into force yesterday.

While  it may sound bureaucratic and confusing, it has the potential to provide a major boost to trade between the UK and Pakistan. In simple terms it provides improved EU market access and duty-and quota-free access for almost all of Pakistan's exports. Pakistan stands to gain an estimated $500 million and 1 million new jobs from this agreement.

Baroness Warsi, the Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for Pakistan said:

These trade preferences will provide substantial benefits for Pakistan’s economy, bringing sustainable growth and jobs. The vote is also a further sign of a deeper and more effective relationship that benefits both the UK and Pakistan.

This move is something the UK has been pushing for over several years and it's great to see it come in to force. It shows that, even though the UK cannot forge its own trade deals within the EU, it should still do all it can to promote Commonwealth free trade as it did in leading the charge for the EU-Canada trade deal.

This was followed by the 2nd annual UK/Pakistan Trade and Investment Conference in London. Speaking at the Conference, the new UK Minister for Trade and Investment Lord Livingston said:

Pakistan and the UK have a close relationship and trade is at the heart of this relationship - Britain is the top European destination for exports from Pakistan. We are working together to deepen our partnership for the long-term and our Prime Ministers have set us an ambitious target to boost bilateral trade to £3bn by 2015.

The Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK, Mr Wajid Shamsul Hasan agreed saying:

Historically, Britain and Pakistan have always enjoyed substantial trading relationship, with more than 100 British companies operating successfully in Pakistan. Pakistan’s relations with the United Kingdom are on a growth trajectory in all areas of bilateral cooperation including trade, economic growth and development, cultural cooperation, security and education.