Pakistan offers ‘best returns’ on investment

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Ms Sherry Rehman said on Monday that her country offered one of the best rate of returns to the business companies and that the American companies could benefit from the liberal business and investment regime in Pakistan.
She appreciated the idea of bringing the businesses of the two countries together and expressed hope that the Pakistan-USA Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) would be concluded to the satisfaction of both sides.
She was addressing the concluding session of the two-day US-Pakistan Business Opportunities Conference held in London on Monday.
According to a statement of the BOI issued here today, the conference was co-hosted by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) , Embassy of Pakistan, Washington DC, Board of Investment, and Ministry of Commerce, Islamabad on 4-5 October 2012 in London.
Ambassador Susman, the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UK patronized this conference. The conference was significant as it was the first time a bilateral business initiative has been taken between the two governments under the Pakistan-USA Trade & Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
On Monday Morning in London ,the US Ambassador Susman, Ambassador Sherry Rehman, Pakistani High Commissioner to UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Assistant US Trade Representative Michael Delany, Secretary Commerce Munir Qureshi and Chairman Board of Investment Salim Mandviwala spoke at the plenary session of the conference and made a strong pitch for Pakistan-US economic relations that were growing and consistent as the one constant that had not been undermined by stresses in other areas of the relationship.
The resilience of the Pakistan-USA bilateral trade & investment relationship is evident from the fact the USA is Pakistan’s largest export market and also Pakistan’s largest inward investor.
The US government is represented at this conference to demonstrate its support to this opportunity for businessmen from both sides to interact and actually conduct business transactions.
Significantly Ambassador Dan Feldman, Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, OPIC Vice President Robert Drumheller, US Economic Counsellor, US Embassy Islamabad Robert Ewing attended the conference and spoke with the Pakistan Government officials expressing their hope that this conference would provide a tool for growth and prosperity in Pakistan. The Pakistan Private Investment Initiative (PPII) that would attract private investment for the Small & Medium Enterprises sector of Pakistan, was also launched in London.