ISLAMABAD: A United States (US) interagency delegation will arrive in Islamabad on Tuesday to participate in the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum, Pakistani state media reported on Saturday.
Pakistan’s landscape is a treasure trove of diverse mineral deposits from huge coal reserves in the southern Sindh province to gold and copper deposits in the southwestern Balochistan province. The northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is home to several gemstone mines, including emerald mines in Swat, Mardan’s pink topaz mines, and peridot mines in Kohistan.
Islamabad has designated mining and minerals as a priority sector for national economic development, aiming to reduce its reliance on imports and enhance exports. The government has launched a series of reforms and events to attract local and international investment in the sector and will be highlighting the country’s mineral wealth at the high-profile Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025 on April 8-9.
The US delegation will be led by Eric Meyer, a senior official of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Mayer will meet with senior Pakistani officials to expand opportunities for American businesses in Pakistan and promote the deepening of economic ties between our two countries,” the report read. “The delegation will hold wide range of talks to advance United States interests in the critical minerals sector at the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum.”
Last month, Pakistan Press Information Department (PID) said Copenhagen-based multinational mining company, FLSmidth, will train 100 Pakistani engineers in mining, amid Islamabad’s efforts to utilize the country’s vast mineral resources.
The statement came after Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik’s meeting with Danish Ambassador to Pakistan Jakob Linulf in Islamabad that focused on bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, particularly in mining and technological collaboration.
“FLSmidth will be launching a training program named BRIMM (Bradshaw Research Initiative for Minerals and Mining) under which hundred Pakistani engineers will be provided training,” the PID said, citing the Danish ambassador.
“FLSmidth has already entered into 5 partnership agreements in minerals sector of Pakistan.”
The South Asian country is currently making efforts to utilize these vast mineral resources through foreign investment and collaboration to stabilize its $350 billion economy.
Petroleum Minister Malik expressed Pakistan’s keen interest in leveraging Danish technology and investment to optimize resource extraction and processing, as the South Asian country has significant mineral reserves, according to the PID statement. He extended his full support and offered the government’s good offices to facilitate Danish investment and technology transfer in Pakistan’s growing mining sector.
US interagency delegation to arrive in Islamabad next week to attend Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum
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US interagency delegation to arrive in Islamabad next week to attend Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum
- Pakistan’s landscape is a treasure trove of diverse mineral deposits from huge coal reserves to gold and copper deposits to gemstone mines
- Islamabad has designated mining and minerals as a priority sector for national economic development, aiming to reduce its reliance on imports
Pakistan stresses critical role of GSP Plus in enhancing trade amid India-EU deal
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets EU Ambassador Raimundas Karoblis to discuss bilateral trade, investment, GSP Plus scheme
- Pakistan says is reviewing EU’s recent free trade deal with India that analysts fear may erode its tariff advantage under GSP Plus
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday stressed the critical role of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus in enhancing trade with the European Union (EU), as Islamabad reviews the implications of India’s free trade deal with Europe.
India and the EU confirmed this week that they had agreed to a new free trade deal that grants Indian exporters sweeping tariff-free access to the EU. Pakistan’s foreign office said Islamabad is aware of the agreement and will continue to view its trade relationship with the EU as mutually beneficial.
Pakistani financial analysts and exporters have voiced concerns that the deal may erode its tariff advantage under the GSP Plus, which allows duty-free access for many Pakistani exports to the EU in return for commitments on labor rights, human rights and governance.
Sharif met EU’s Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis at the Prime Minister’s House to discuss bilateral ties, trade, investment and other areas of interest between the two sides.
“The Prime Minister emphasized upon the critical role of the GSP Plus scheme in enhancing trade between Pakistan and the EU,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
“And said the Government of Pakistan is committed to working closely with the EU on mutually beneficial trade enhancement initiatives, especially through the GSP Plus.”
The Pakistani premier reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to further strengthen cooperation with the EU in all areas of mutual interest, particularly trade, investment, development, security, migration and climate change.
Karoblis assured Sharif he would continue to work to strengthen Pakistan-EU relations across all spheres. He said the EU would continue to engage closely with Pakistan on enhancing trade under the GSP Plus and through trade promotion activities.
Under GSP Plus scheme, Pakistan currently enjoys duty-free access on around 66% of EU tariff lines, while Indian textile and apparel products previously faced duties of up to 12%.
The shift comes at a fragile moment for Pakistan’s exports. After rising 5% to $32.1 billion last fiscal year, exports fell 9% to $15.2 billion in the first half of the current year through December, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data.
