FAISALABAD - German Ambassador Ina Lepel has said that Germany being a major trade partner of Pakistan in the European market will continue to extend its diplomatic and political support to help explore more avenues for bilateral business.

Addressing a meeting at the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association here on Tuesday, she said that Germany was one of the important trade partners of Pakistan and several German companies were working in different trade fields in Pakistan. Both countries have potential to increase the trade volume and “we must carve out ways and means to exploit the available potential”. She termed GSP plus a key driver for promoting bilateral trade and said that with duty free access to EU, Pak-German trade volume had reached 2.24 billion dollar last year with positive growth of 16%. In the first half of current fiscal year, growth in bilateral trade has been witnessed at 6%.

Ina Lepel said that Germany was looking at ways to help Pakistani business community to fully avail the opportunity. However, she cautioned that GSP plus preferences should not be taken for granted as Pakistan had to ensure compliance with 27 international conventions. In order to further strengthen business institutions, Pakistan-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been established, which would further improve bilateral trade and economic relations, she said. Germany was currently focusing on renewable energy and energy efficiency in Pakistan including consultancy for individual enterprises on energy conservation in their production processes. GIZ is working in different sectors of economy to enhance the productivity and the working conditions to further improve the quality and quantity of exportable surplus from Pakistan, she said.