The first Pakistan-USA bilateral Business Opportunities Conference was co-hosted by the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Embassy of Pakistan, Washington DC and Ministry of Commerce, Islamabad, on October 4-5.
US Ambassador to UK Ambassador Susman and Pak Ambassador to UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan patronised this conference.
The conference was significant as it was the first time a bilateral business initiative had been taken between both governments under the Pakistan-USA Trade & Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
US Ambassador Susman, Pak Ambassador to US Sherry Rehman, Pak envoy Hasan, US Assistant Trade Representative Michael Delany, Commerce Secretary Munir Qureshi and Board of Investment Chairman Salim Mandviwala spoke at the plenary session of the conference on Friday, and made a strong pitch for Pakistan-US economic relations, which have been growing consistently and comprise the one constant that has not been undermined by stresses in other areas of the relationship. The resilience of the Pakistan-USA bilateral trade and investment relationship is evident from the fact that USA is Pakistan’s largest export market and also Pakistan’s largest inward investor.
The US government was represented at this conference to demonstrate their support to this opportunity for businessmen from both sides to interact and actually conduct business transactions. Significantly Ambassador Dan Feldman, who is deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, OPIC Vice President Robert Drumheller and Robert Ewing, who is a US economic counselor stationed at US Embassy Islamabad, also attended the conference and spoke with the Pakistani government officials and expressed hope that this conference would provide a tool for growth and prosperity in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Private Investment Initiative was also launched at the conference. The whole afternoon of the conference was dedicated to sector specific breakout sessions on textiles, energy, access to finance, consumer goods and financial services. The conferences’ first goal had been to put many of the US and Pakistani companies together, and many of the 50 companies participating booked the entire afternoon schedule for inter-business meetings.
Upon conclusion of the conference, Sherry Rahman said, “This was an important first step in re-building the relationship and setting it on a more sustainable axis of enhanced economic ties. I appreciate the effort that USTR and the (American) State Department put into this, and hope that many of the conversations we are having today will yield positive outcomes. We already have some demonstrations of business intent; some US companies are almost doubling their investment, which will spur much-needed job creation.”
“The purpose of the conference is to get the two private sectors to focus on the investment opportunities available in the two countries,” said Sherry. “Historically, this dimension of the relationship has not received adequate attention. This is a step towards realigning the relationship and underpinning it in a mutually beneficial economic partnership between the two countries, as US remains Pakistan’s largest trade partner.”