KARACHI: Chief of the Economic Unit of Consulate General of United States Chad Miner has said that the US government was deeply interested in expanding trade and investment ties between United States and Pakistan which is the largest exporter of goods to US.
Speaking at a meeting during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), Chad Miner highlighted some irritants related to value addition and packaging criteria for Pakistani products to be exported to the US which, if addressed properly, could lead to expansion of trade and investment between both the countries.
The Commercial Team of US Consulate visited KCCI to seek Chamber’s input on current economic environment in Pakistan and acquaint KCCI’s business community about American businesses’ interests of investing in numerous sectors of Pakistan’s economy.
President KCCI Junaid Esmail Makda, Vice President KCCI Asif Sheikh Javaid, Former President KCCI Majyd Aziz, Commercial Specialist of US Consulate Tashfeen Mehdi and Economic Specialist Mehreen Kashif along with KCCI Managing Committee members also attended the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, President KCCI Junaid Esmail Makda stressed the need for having Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan & USA in order to pave way for enhanced trade and investment between the two countries.
He further underscored that it was high time that Pakistan should make the best use of the Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSP) opportunity keeping in view the withdrawal of GSP facility to India and Turkey. “Under GSP, approximately 3,500 Pakistani products have been granted duty free access to United States but the textile sector was not falling under GSP which may also be added that would result in taking the existing trade volume to new heights”, he pleaded, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to visit US soon so the Honorable PM must also request US authorities to add Pakistani Textiles in the GSP list.
President KCCI also appreciated the USAID support to Pakistan in the Education & Health Sectors, gender equality and women empowerment.
He was of the opinion that CPEC was a good opportunity for many US companies and it was really heartening to see that companies like Exxon, Texaco have invested in Pakistan in oil exploration projects.
Junaid Esmail Makda stated that the present government was intending to create an enabling environment by taking various measures particularly the steps taken to ensure Ease of Doing Business which will also be beneficial for foreign investors intending to set up their business or undertake joint ventures in Pakistan. “There are lots of investment opportunities in Pakistan for US investors who can either establish their business units here or undertake joint ventures in collaboration with their Pakistani counterparts”, he added.
