KARACHI: Federal Minister for Commerce Engr Khurram Dastgir Khan has said that Pakistan and the US share an important economic and strategic relationship.
Additional Secretary Commerce Robina Athar, Ambassador of United States to Pakistan Richard Olson were also present on the occasion, while American Business Council (ABC) President Arshad Saeed Husain briefed the members of the Council and the media regarding the prospects of the Pak-US trade and Investment.
The minister said that the Pakistani government places a high priority on bolstering economic engagement with the US. He said that promoting international trade and investment is the pivot around which Pakistan seeks to devise its economic development and poverty reduction strategies. “This is the centrepiece of the current government’s vision and strategy to fight violent extremism through economic and political empowerment of the people of Pakistan,” he added.
Pak-US Business Opportunity Conference is being held on March 10-12, 2015 in Islamabad and US businesses representing agriculture, textiles/ apparel, footwear, energy, surgical instruments/ healthcare/ pharmaceutical, infrastructure and ICT will be attending the event.
In his welcome address, ABC President Arshad Saeed Husain said that the American Business Council of Pakistan is extremely pleased to partner with the Ministry of Commerce and the US Department of State for the 3rd edition of the upcoming Business Opportunities Conference. The United States is the largest single country export destination for Pakistan’s trade. Every year, around 15-20pc of Pakistan’s total exports enter US market. During 2013, Pakistan’s total exports to USA were $3.687 billion, which is about 16pc of the total exports of Pakistan to the world. US also remains a very important source of FDI and major areas of investment by American investors include energy, agriculture, IT and infrastructure.
