ISLAMABAD: A high-level delegation of European Union officials and senior executives from some of Europe’s biggest companies paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad on Tuesday and left him so encouraged by their words that he told them: “You made my morning.” The delegation, which is in Pakistan for the EU-Pakistan Business Forum, lavished praise on Islamabad’s economic stabilisation efforts and its push for regional peace, prompting the prime minister’s candid remark, which officials said reflected the warmth of the exchange.
The group was led by Peteris Ustubs, Director for Asia Pacific at the European Commission’s Directorate General of International Partnerships, and included Thourya Triki of the EU Investment Bank alongside top corporate names Manuel Pauser, Vice President of Adidas, Karl Shloegelbauer, Vice President of Andritz, and Dieter Metkke, Regional Director of IKEA. EU Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis also attended.
The delegates spoke of their direct investment experiences in Pakistan and pointed to significant untapped potential in sectors including energy, communications and information technology. More than 600 business-to-business meetings are expected on the sidelines of the Forum. The prime minister noted that the EU remained Pakistan’s largest trading partner and the top destination for Pakistani exports. He expressed the hope that the Forum would further deepen trade and investment ties, and pledged the government’s continued commitment to economic reform, even as regional pressures, including a recent spike in oil prices linked to the situation in the Middle East, test the country’s resilience.
