Pakistan’s economy is going to take off in a matter of couple of years as misperceptions about the country are fast fading out. This was stated by US Commercial Consular Brian McClreary while talking to LCCI Vice President Saeeda Nazar here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. LCCI Executive Committee Members Rehman Chan, Zeeshan Khalil, Tahir M Sheikh and Waqar Ahmad Mian and former Executive Committee Member Ibrahim Qureshi also spoke on the occasion.
The US Commercial Consular said that there exists a vast potential in Pakistan to become a developed economy but it is only suffering because of lack of technology and the United states was keen and taking all possible measures to remove the hurdles coming in the way of expanded Pak-US economic relations.
During his hour-long meeting at the LCCI, the US diplomat said that the embassy in Pakistan was making all out efforts to highlight Pakistan potential so that the US businessmen could make investment in the sector of their choice. He said that Pakistani entrepreneurs are very creative and are already making remarkable successes at international horizon. He said, “We all need to do a better job collectively to create more success stories and the embassy is ready to extend every cooperation.”
Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI Vice President Saeeda Nazar said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry stressed the need for exchange of business delegations between the two sides to further strengthen Pak-US economic relations. She said that said that a Free Trade Agreement Between Pakistan and the United States is of utmost importance and the US policy makers should give some attention towards this particular area. She also informed the US diplomat that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry was planning a sector specific delegation to the United States in the month of May to take part in International Franchises Expo.
She said that the United States should help Pakistan in the energy sector so that the shortage it has been facing for the last many years could be bridged.
She said that the the US businessmen should make investment in Pakistan as it is not only a huge market of 180 million people but it is also a gateway to landlocked Central Asian States but also could help send their merchandise to Afghanistan. She said that the United States is the biggest trading partner of Pakistan as for the last four year or so our exports are ranging from US$ 3.9 billion to US$ 3.7 billion. We do have greater capacity to increase this level to more than 5-6 billion dollars but it requires not only greater access to US market but also some transfer of technology. She said that some good news about Reconstruction Opportunity Zones and Bilateral Investment Treaty could help address the ills facing Pakistan’s economy. “We seek greater attention of US Investors towards Pakistan especially in the wake of serious dearth of Foreign Direct Investment in our country.”
It is most urgent need of the hour to revive the economy through increasing the level of FDI which is also shying away due to security reasons. Since America is leading this initiative, therefore, it is the prime responsibility of America to help and assist Pakistan to get out of this trouble which is accumulating with the passage of time. The LCCI Vice President said that the quality of Pakistani products is far better than others and on top of it the prices are also very competitive. The US must pay some special attention towards Pakistan which is considerably contributing to US economy.