A delegation of All Pakistan Business Forum (APBF) on Sunday left for the visit to the United States (US) to attend a major conference aimed at building business-to-business linkages between the US and Pakistani businesses and to generate networking opportunities for them.
APBF President Ibrahim Qureshi said that the visit is aimed at exploring trade and investment opportunities and possibilities of joint ventures between the private sectors of the two countries.
He said that the Business Opportunities Conference 2016 highlights business opportunities for the US and Pakistani businesses with particular focus on fashion apparel, health care, information, communication, technology and agriculture. The moot brings together over 250 industry representatives, investors and government leaders from the two countries, featuring emerging professionals and entrepreneurs, he said.
He said the conference is another sign of the growing cooperation between the two economies.
Qureshi said that US President Barack Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif affirmed their commitment in October 2015 to expand bilateral trade and investment by holding annual business opportunities conferences.
He said that the Pakistan’s delegation also included Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan and US Ambassador Jalil Jilani.
The US delegation is led by Bruce Andrews, Deputy Secretary of Commerce and included Fred Hochberg, Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Qureshi said that US ambassador to Pakistan and US Special Representative for Afghanistan Richard Olson, USAID Assistant to the Administrator for Afghanistan and Pakistan Larry Sampler, US Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Ziad Haider and General Electric Vice Chairman John Rice will be the key speakers during the conference.
Hundreds of US and Pakistani business executives have registered to attend the event.
The first to be held in the United States, the two-day US-Pakistan Business Opportunities Conference is the fourth in a series. The previous conferences took place in London, Dubai and Islamabad.
The APBF president hoped that visit of the delegation will not only bring Pakistani and the US businessmen closer but would also open doors for joint ventures.