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The issue of visit facilitation to Pakistani businessmen dominated the discussion at the meeting of Michael L. McGee, Commercial Counsellor of US Commercial Service on Friday with Riaz Ahmed Tata, President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), and other businessmen in Federation House
McGee, who is based is Lagos, Nigeria, was informed at the meeting that the unfounded scare of insecurity and bad law and order situation in Pakistan raised by the American media, which was restricting visit by American businessmen to Pakistan, needed to be removed urgently.
McGee promised to convey the issues raised at the meeting to the U S Ambassador and higher U S authorities as he felt that the continuation of this would have adverse impact on the trade and economic relations between the two countries. He said he felt that changes have taken place in this regard since the September 11 incident.
He was informed that the travel advisory being issued to American businessmen was discouraging them from visiting Pakistan although the situation in Pakistan is almost safe and secure and normal conditions prevail.
Tata also drew attention of the US Commercial Counsellor to the ending of textile quota from 2005 and expressed fear that Pakistan would not be able to maintain the present level of its exports to USA if market access was denied to it through discriminatory custom duties on imports.
He said that Pakistan and USA have been enjoying ver good and amicable political relations. Pakistan is the frontrunner and partner of USA in the fight against terrorism but it is feared that if the problems and difficulties being faced by Pakistani business are not removed these would have negative impact on the bilateral economic relations.
Tata said that USA is the biggest exporting country of Pakistan with which total trade stood at 3.94 billion dollars in 2003-04. Pakistan has been enjoying significant trade surplus with USA since 1999--1.476 billion dollars in 1999-2000, 1.680 billion dollars in 2000-01, 1.569 billion dollars in 2001-02 and 1.881 billion dollars in 2002-03. However, the trade balance reduced to 1.62 billion dollars in 2003-04.
He said that poverty and unemployment levels were high in Pakistan which only the businessmen can cope through establishing more industries and exporting more to the outside world. He called for more interaction between Pakistani and American businessmen to exploit the vast potential for investment and economic co-operation which exists between the two countries.
McGee said that the recent visit of Ex-Imp Bank officials to Islamabad and plan to organise the visit of a 25-member Pakistan delegation to Singapore in November for American machinery exhibition would promote economic co-operation between the two countries.
Vice-Presidents of FPCCI Arshad Alam and Haroon Rashid and former FPCCI President Tariq Sayeed, who participated in the discussion, emphasised that the negative attitude of U S press, the negative travel advisory issued to American businessmen and the propagation of security problems in Pakistan needed to be countered seriously by U S authorities so that Pakistan--USA economic relations are not adversely affected.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2004

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