Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday asked the US-Pakistan Business Council (USPBC) to play its role in urging the US lawmakers about the importance of providing preferential market access to Pakistani goods.
Addressing the USPBC delegation at the PM House during a luncheon meeting, the prime minister expressed confidence that the Council would also continue to play an active role in sharing with the larger US business community positive experiences of doing business with and investing in Pakistan.
He said that the Pakistani nation was now on a course of realizing its true potential as a democratic country with strong institutions and a vibrant economy.
He said that Pakistan was among the few places in the world that offered the promise of resources, geography and people, all at the same time. Increasing urbanisation, favorable demographics, a growing middle class and economically empowered women and youth are some of the key drivers of the economy’s growth.
Sharif said that Pakistan also has one of the most attractive investment regimes in the world, which allows foreign investors 100 per cent repatriation of profits and easy convertibility into foreign exchange.
The prime minister said that Pakistan believes the private sector to be the engine of economic growth and considers foreign investment a necessary catalyst for creating more economic opportunities.
“We believe that a vibrant private sector is essential to a government’s ability to provide the best possible services to its citizens,” said the prime minister. “My government is committed to providing an enabling environment, sustained by institutional structures that facilitate and allow the private sector to flourish.”
The prime minister mentioned the recently launched $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and said that it was a mark of growing confidence in Pakistan’s economy and its future potential.
“This programme will spur regional economic integration and bring prosperity to the entire region and beyond,” the prime minister said.
Sharif said that the United States remains one of the most important economic and trading partners of Pakistan. He said that leading US companies had invested billions of dollars in Pakistan and were making healthy profits.
He said that those US companies which had invested in Pakistan in the past had reaped rich dividends. “The future promises to be even better,” he said.
The delegation comprised US-Pakistan Business Council Chairman Miles Young, Vice Chairman Mehmood Khan and US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale. The 14-member delegation comprised US businessmen, executives, investors, and industry leaders.
The prime minister said that the US Chamber of Commerce epitomised American enterprise and dynamism. He said that through the US-Pakistan Business Council, the Chamber had been a close and trusted partner of Pakistan and had made commendable efforts to promote business-to-business collaboration between Pakistan and the United States.
He said that in the process, the council had further strengthened relations between the two countries. He particularly thanked Chairman Miles Young and his team for their efforts in this regard and expressed confidence that the visit would go a long way in opening up new avenues for trade and investment flows between Pakistan and the United States.
