ISLAMABAD – Pak-U.S. Business Council Founder Chairman Iftikhar Ali Maliksaid on Saturday that 15 high-level U.S. trade delegations would visitPakistan this year to enhance volume of trade and further exploreinvestment avenues in various sectors to help boost and accelerate economicactivities in the country.
He disclosed it while talking to a 10-member delegation of leadingexporters from Faisalabad led by Rana Anwaar-ul-Haq and Rana Tariq Anwaar,”said a press release.
He said Pakistan was keen to further expand economic ties with the UnitedStates and to explore full economic potential of bilateral relationsthrough joint ventures.
He said the business community in Pakistan was ready to welcome UnitedStates trade delegations to Pakistan to further explore possibilities forexpanding trade with the country with open heart.
Iftikhar Malik urged the U.S. investors to explore the country as aninvestment destination, and pointed out that reputable international firmsand investors from Europe and Asia have been investing in Pakistan.
He assured his full support to the U.S. investors interested in pursuinginvestment opportunities in Pakistan.
He further said there was a dire need of high-level bilateral discussionsof working groups on agriculture, economics and finance, energy, marketaccess, and science and technology.
He also underscored the opportunities available for industrial developmentin the special economic zones of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC), including the relocation of industries from abroad to benefit fromlow wages of the skilled workers in Pakistan.
He said the CPEC has created plenty of opportunities for joint ventures andinvestment in Pakistan and it was the right time for U.S. investors tovisit in Pakistan and grab these opportunities for developing sustainablebusiness partnerships with Pakistani counterparts.
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He urged the local traders and investors to chalk out plans to takeAmerican investors to Special Economic Zones (SEZs) especially the AllamaIqbal Industrial City of Faisalabad, the Industrial Estate Development andManagement Company (FIEDMC) under the CPEC.
Malik said American energy producers were seeing more and more businessopportunities with Pakistan and American companies are incorporatingcutting-edge technologies into energy projects throughout Pakistan.
He opined that Pakistani pharmaceutical companies were mostly importing rawmaterial to produce medicines and stressed that the U.S. investors shouldtry to set up raw material producing plants in Allama Iqbal Industrial Cityas this business has immense scope in Pakistan.
Besides this, he further said all industries within the export processingzone would be exempted from tax for a period of 10 years and plants,machinery, raw material and other equipment would be imported duty-free.
Reiterating his earlier stance, he said Pak-U.S. Business Council was readyto play its role for enhancing cooperation with key organisations in bothcountries to ensure cohesive and coordinated strategies in promoting U.S.private sector interests in Pakistan.
Rana and Anwaar said exporters would definitely facilitate the U.S.traders’ delegations and involve Pak-U.S. Business Council to make theirvisit result oriented and successful.
They also demanded free access to U.S. markets in view of Pakistan colossalsacrifices to stamp out menace of terror in the region.
