According to the American Business Council, eighty-three (83) US companies have invested more than $1.5 billion in Pakistan and generated revenues of $3 billion.
Ambassador Masood Khan said this during a meeting with American corporate executives, entrepreneurs and business leaders in Washington.
“This data shows that the United States has a strong and sophisticated investment infrastructure in Pakistan and its companies are already familiar with the business ecosystem in Pakistan,” he said.
“For decades, the Pakistani market has remained profitable and attractive to American businesses,” he said.
The Ambassador said the US International Trade Administration in Pakistan has no equity restrictions for US investors, simple work permit rules, no technology transfer requirements and a large and sophisticated business community.
He said Pakistan invites new investments in IT, energy, agriculture and mineral sectors.
“To facilitate foreign inflows into these areas, a new organization – the Special Investment Facilitation Agency – has been established,” he said.
The Ambassador said that the IT industry, especially technology start-ups, is a fast growing industry in Pakistan as the fourth largest outsourcing provider in the world with more than 20,000 registered ICT companies.
He also singled out the electricity sector as another priority, as the country aims to double energy production from the current level of 45,000 MW in ten years and quickly switch to renewable sources.
The Ambassador also drew the attention of US businessmen to Pakistan’s mineral wealth including copper, gold, lead, zinc, iron ore, coal, lithium, rare earths, cobalt, aluminium, chromite and nickel.
“Pakistan is developing human capital and expertise in semiconductor chip manufacturing for use in various AI-enabled electronic and generative devices.
Masood Khan reminded the participants in detail about the various incentives offered by the government in all investment sectors.
He said that after successfully revising the relationship between Pakistan and the United States in the last two years, their relationship has passed a productive phase and has prepared a road map for cooperation in security and non-security areas.
The Ambassador also said that the two countries had several consultations to give a new boost to defense cooperation.
“We hope that approval to support US-sourced defense platforms will soon lead to a full recovery of foreign military financing and foreign military trade.”
Noting that the Pak-US dialogue and cooperation in climate change, energy, health, education, science and technology, trade and investment are growing at a fast pace, the ambassador said efforts are being made to hold a comprehensive economic dialogue to promote and build growth. . and long-term, sustainable relations that will directly benefit the people of both countries.
He informed the meeting that in 2022-2023, including services, Pak-US trade will be $10.6 billion, while Pakistan’s exports will be $8.4 billion, making the United States the largest export hub for Pakistan.
Noting that Pakistan is one of the most influential countries in the Western Asian Hemisphere, the ambassador highlighted the great transformation of the country towards digitalization and e-business, connecting the human potential and the economy of the country with the technologically savvy youth and new technologies.
