Founder Chairman of Pakistan-US Business Council and Vice-President Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik on Friday hailed the passage of Kerry-Lugar Bill by the US Senate, and urged the Obama administration to take more steps to help strengthen economic base of Pakistan.
In a statement, Iftikhar Ali Malik said that there was no doubt in it that the promised assistance of 1.5 billion dollars per annum for the next five years would help mitigate the ongoing economic woes of the country, but the present US Administration would have to concentrate on ensuring duty-free access of Pakistani merchandise to US the markets, besides activating Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) at the earliest.
The Pakistan-US Business Council Chairman said that the business community in Pakistan was worried over fast declining US investment in Pakistan and the Obama administration should convince potential American investors to make investment in Pakistan, which itself was not only a good market, but also a gateway to land-locked Central Asian states.
The veteran business leader said that the United States should also take steps to upgrade Pakistan technologically by transferring technology to Pakistan as Pakistan was a frontline ally of the United States in its war against terrorism.
He said that acute energy shortage was problem number one of Pakistan and the US administration should fulfil its promises. He said that Pakistan and the United States had a huge trade potential, but it could not be materialised so far only because of lesser access to Pakistani businessmen to the US market as was being given to other regional countries.
"Once the Pakistanis are provided right access to the US market, the country would not be in need of any aid as the trade is the best substitute to aid," he added. Iftikhar Malik said that Pakistani textiles and textile made-ups were the best in the world, but were not getting right place in the US market for multiple reasons that must be taken care of.
Stressing the need for exchange of more and more trade delegations between Pakistan and the United States, Malik said that this was the best available solution to increase the volume of two-way trade and improve the perception of Pakistan, which had been tarnished by unseen forces for their ulterior motives.