WASHINGTON – The US Department of Commerce on Thursday recognized Pakistanas an important market with the great potential to grow its economy in thenear term.
The US has always helped Pakistan overcome challenges and its stability isimportant for the region, it said.
The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia Diane Farrell, Acting Director ofInvestment Services Helen Hwang, and other officials said this whiletalking to a delegation led by President FPCCI Ghazanfar Bilour.
They said that trade has become an important tool to forge good relationsand they encourage Pakistani investors to explore investment opportunitiesin the U.S.
US remains the largest export destination for Pakistan and a major sourceof foreign direct investment while Pakistan remains an attractive marketfor some US companies due toáfavorableádemographics and a growing middleclass, they said.
There are some trade and investment barriers that limit the ability of UScompanies to enter the market and grow their businesses in Pakistan whichshould be considered, they added.
Read Top Stories
The US officials said that the US-Pakistan total trade in goods is upnearly 20ápercentásince 2013, reaching nearly $6.4 billion in 2017 while USexports to Pakistan are at an all-time high and up some 70ápercentáover thesame period.
The officials of the commerce department welcomed FPCCI to ink agreementswith different chambers of commerce and invited Pakistani businesscommunity to participate in the ôThe Select USA Investment Summitö fromJune 10-12, 2019 in Washington D.C., which was accepted.
At the occasion, President FPCCI Ghazanfar Bilour said that US shouldconsider establishing Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (RoZs) in FATA toovercome militancy.
