DarK-LorD
BANNED
- Joined
- May 2, 2011
- Messages
- 1,753
- Reaction score
- 0
Bangladesh retracts assurances given to Gilani, Hina.
17 November, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan faced great embarrassment on Wednesday when after winning the consent of 150 countries, Bangladesh once again made it clear it would not remove its objections at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting that calls for the European Union to allow Pakistan a two-year cut in tariffs to boost Pakistan's economy shattered by the massive floods of 2010.
Last Sunday, upon her return from the Saarc summit, when Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was asked specifically whether she believed Bangladesh would deliver, she said Dhaka had given her an assurance in Maldives. It seems now that Bangladesh has no intention of upholding this promise.
Bilateral relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh are lukewarm at best, which can be gauged from the fact that there was no formal bilateral meeting between the two prime ministers during the recent Saarc summit in Maldives.
The next meeting of the WTO Council for Trade in Goods will take place in Geneva around the third week of November. Bangladesh has concerns about the impact of the European measures, which would make it easier for Pakistan to export textiles to Europe. Bangladesh competes with Pakistan for textile sales to the European market.
The Bangladeshi commerce minister, M Faruk Khan, said in Dhaka, "Our position is clear. One should not mix aid with trade. We do not support any aid for trade programme for a country which is our competitor. We have formulated our strategy under which we oppose duty-free access of eight products because it will expose our exporters to competition. Exports over $100 million will be affected if the privilege is extended to Islamabad."
The offer from the European Union would allow the import of 75 Pakistani items, earning the country millions of dollars for a two-year period. The WTO works by consensus and the EU requires all WTO members to give consent to the EU proposal.
Officials confess there is little more that they can do. Prime Minister Yusuf Reza Gilani and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar have personally taken the issue up with their Bangladeshi counterparts earlier in Perth and most recently in Maldives. Khar says that an assurance was given that in future, Bangladesh would not raise further objections at the WTO meetings that work by consensus.
Europe and Pakistan had expected a long-announced plan for trade preferences for Pakistani textile makers to be approved during a meeting of trade diplomats in Geneva on Monday, but a Bangladeshi complaint effectively halted it.
Bangladesh retracts assurances given to Gilani, Hina - PakTribune
17 November, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan faced great embarrassment on Wednesday when after winning the consent of 150 countries, Bangladesh once again made it clear it would not remove its objections at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting that calls for the European Union to allow Pakistan a two-year cut in tariffs to boost Pakistan's economy shattered by the massive floods of 2010.
Last Sunday, upon her return from the Saarc summit, when Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was asked specifically whether she believed Bangladesh would deliver, she said Dhaka had given her an assurance in Maldives. It seems now that Bangladesh has no intention of upholding this promise.
Bilateral relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh are lukewarm at best, which can be gauged from the fact that there was no formal bilateral meeting between the two prime ministers during the recent Saarc summit in Maldives.
The next meeting of the WTO Council for Trade in Goods will take place in Geneva around the third week of November. Bangladesh has concerns about the impact of the European measures, which would make it easier for Pakistan to export textiles to Europe. Bangladesh competes with Pakistan for textile sales to the European market.
The Bangladeshi commerce minister, M Faruk Khan, said in Dhaka, "Our position is clear. One should not mix aid with trade. We do not support any aid for trade programme for a country which is our competitor. We have formulated our strategy under which we oppose duty-free access of eight products because it will expose our exporters to competition. Exports over $100 million will be affected if the privilege is extended to Islamabad."
The offer from the European Union would allow the import of 75 Pakistani items, earning the country millions of dollars for a two-year period. The WTO works by consensus and the EU requires all WTO members to give consent to the EU proposal.
Officials confess there is little more that they can do. Prime Minister Yusuf Reza Gilani and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar have personally taken the issue up with their Bangladeshi counterparts earlier in Perth and most recently in Maldives. Khar says that an assurance was given that in future, Bangladesh would not raise further objections at the WTO meetings that work by consensus.
Europe and Pakistan had expected a long-announced plan for trade preferences for Pakistani textile makers to be approved during a meeting of trade diplomats in Geneva on Monday, but a Bangladeshi complaint effectively halted it.
Bangladesh retracts assurances given to Gilani, Hina - PakTribune