President of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Anis Ahmed Sheikh eulogised the efforts of President Asif Ali Zardari to get access to American and British markets to boost exports to 40 billion dollars. Anis Ahmed Sheikh said that we needed to build Pakistan's image and create confidence amongst foreign investors by holding international events.
He said that Zardari had called upon the United States to ask it to allow Pakistani goods access to its markets, to help the country overcome problems of poverty and unemployment and help fight militancy and extremism. Anis Sheikh said that the President, Asif Zardari, had pleaded the case of Pakistan in the United States and said that the war against militancy had a broad-based national consensus in Pakistan, and that the government was fated to win the war.
In response to Zardari, the US Director National Intelligence, Dennis C Blair, said that the US and the international community were willing to help Pakistan in its fight against the militants. "The fight against extremists is a collective responsibility of the international community, and the world is ready to assist Pakistan," he said.
The United States is committed to a long-term partnership with Pakistan to ensure its political and economic stability. Anis Ahmed Shaikh said that President Asif Ali Zardari assured the private sector of his full support and co-operation in holding an 'International Private Sector Investment Conference', tentatively in August 2009, for the promotion and enhancement of investment and trade between Pakistan and other countries of the world.