EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to visit Islamabad on June 1

ISLAMABAD: European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas will visit Pakistan on June 1 to take part in the 8th EU-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, according to a statement issued by the bloc on Saturday.

The statement said Kallas, who is also vice president of the European Commission, is scheduled to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir during the visit.

The EU said the dialogue will provide an opportunity to review bilateral ties under the Strategic Engagement Plan signed in June 2019. "This is the eighth round of the Strategic Dialogue between the EU and Pakistan, providing an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations under the Strategic Engagement Plan, signed in June 2019," the EU said in the statement.

The statement added that Kallas will hold a joint press conference with Dar at 12:30pm local time. The EU is Pakistan’s second-largest trading partner, while the GSP+ arrangement has allowed Pakistan to benefit from duty-free or low-duty access for exports to European markets. The status was granted in 2014 and led to a 108 per cent increase in Pakistani textile exports to the EU due to concessional tariffs.