ISLAMABAD: BoI, in collaboration with the Pakistan Embassy, US organised an online investment seminar on Thursday, December 16 to apprise the potential investors and the Pakistani diaspora based in USA on the abundant investment opportunities available in Pakistan, said a press release.
Secretary BOI Fareena Mazhar, Minister of State and Chairman BoI Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to US Dr Asad Majeed Khan addressed the participants during the webinar.
While sensitizing the audience about investment opportunities in Pakistan, Fareena mentioned that Pakistan offers potential investors a robust consumer market with an ever expanding middle-class.
The country’s strategic location at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia, and proximity to the Gulf countries, makes Pakistan a promising regional hub and an important destination for trade and investment, she added.
Elaborating on Pakistan’s investment climate, the secretary BoI shared that country has been introducing bold economic reforms to achieve significant improvement in all sectors of economy and Pakistan’s economy has made significant progress reflecting a blend of stabilisation and structural reforms.
She further added that recent surveys corroborate that confidence of foreign and local investors has immensely increased due to liberal trade and investment policies of our government.
The secretary specifically mentioned that Pakistan and the USA are partners for prosperity and the United States is among the top five investors in Pakistan for the last two decades.
She expounded that there is great opportunity for further expanding bilateral trade and investment between the two countries and informed the participants about Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the USA, which is in place since 2003. Fareena shared that the TIFA especially, underscores development of an effective bilateral mechanism between the two countries for encouraging trade and investment liberalisation.
Minister of State and Chairman BOI Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, while informing the participants about Pakistan’s massive investment potential, shared that in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs), distinctive incentives are being offered to the investors for enhancing productivity and reducing cost of doing business with overall objective to accomplish economic and industrial development goals.
He added that it is a great opportunity for prospective investors to invest in the 22 notified SEZs independently or through joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts and reap benefits from the available incentives thus, realising true potential arising out of the CPEC.
Ahsan, while describing the BoI’s role, shared that it acts as an interface between international and local investors, public and private sector and works for creating a conducive business environment through policy and strategic interventions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021