US-Pakistan Business Council on Wednesday said Islamabad and Washington should show flexibility to materialise Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) for encouraging private and public sectors of both the countries to take benefit of each other's potential.
The Council's chairman Jay Collins CEO of Citigroup told a luncheon meeting organised by his Pakistani counterpart and former FPCCI president Iftikhar Ali Malik that the America was major trade partner of Pakistan and also the single largest investor. It was a well-attended function. The representatives of all trade and industries bodies were present on the occasion.
He said that US-Pakistan Business Council was pushing Bush administration for giving more access to Pakistani exporters to enable them increase export to the US market. He noted that Pakistan's progress in trade and industrialisation was a highly encouraging and it will pay it good dividend in coming years.
Jay said that American companies huge investment in Pakistan negates the impression that it was not a safe place for foreign direct investment. He was of the view that the situation on ground in Pakistan was totally different than the image that was being portrayed by the international media.
A 12-business executives US-Pakistan Business Council visited Islamabad from April 24-26. The council was formed in 2002 by the then FPCCI president Iftikhar Ali Malik. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had also travelled to US to participate the first meeting of the council held in USA.
The delegation met with President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, Secretary of Commerce Syed Asif Shah, Secretary of Information Technology Farrakh Qayyum, Secretary of the Board of Investment Muhammad Jehangir Bashir, and Director General of the Intellectual Property Organisation Yasin Tahir. The delegates also met with officials of the US embassy in Islamabad. The delegation also met with the members of the Federation of Pakistani Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The delegation was of the view that BIT was a necessary building block in order to move forward with discussions on US-Pakistan free trade agreement (FTA).
The council also appreciated the idea of setting up free trade and industrial zone on Pak-Afghan border. It was of the view the industrial activity in these areas will create jobs for depressed people and will help fight terrorism.
The delegation expressed optimism that US companies already operating in Pakistan will continue to grow their investments in the country based on their positive experience and profitability in the local market. However, the perception of Pakistan in the US lacks reality and is often dominated by issues surrounding security and terrorism. As a partner of the US in the war on terrorism, Pakistan continues to place a high priority on security.