Mark Eastwood's 'great work' praised by Trade Minister
Dewsbury MP Mark Eastwood, was today praised by the Minister for International Trade for his "great work as Trade Envoy to Pakistan.
Mr Eastwood who is the MP for Dewsbury took up the role as the Prime Minister's trade envoy to Pakistan last year. The praise came after Mr Eastwood asked the Minister for Internation Trade about imports and exports to Pakistan and the rest of the world.
Mark Eastwood MP, Trade Envoy to Pakistan:
"Since being appointed the trade envoy to Pakistan, I have encountered a number of issues that hinder potential trade opportunities such as exporting meat and poultry to help our farmers and importing high quality granite and marble that is important to the UK burial industry, and difficulties for businesses gaining access to UK Export Finance. Will the Minister outline what he is doing to overcome those and other barriers so that trade can be open not just to Pakistan but across the globe?"
Mr Jayawardena, Minister for International Trade:
"I thank my hon. Friend for his great work as trade envoy to Pakistan. We are very aware of the challenges to exports in the farming sector posed by costly market access barriers around the world, which is why we are working closely with our counterparts in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and engaging trading partners to remove them where possible, as I have outlined, so that Great British meat and produce can be enjoyed all around the world.
My hon. Friend mentioned UKEF, which has a £1.5 billion risk appetite to support exports in Pakistan with a specialist team on hand to discuss options available to British businesses of all sizes. He will also know that we will soon launch our developing countries trading scheme, which will look to further simplify trading arrangements with developing countries, including Pakistan."
