Embassy of the United States
PRESS RELEASES
U.S. Business Delegation to Pakistan
March 15, 2005
Islamabad, Pakistan
Islamabad, March 15, 2005 – A delegation of 15 executives
representing some of America’s biggest and most well-known companies, including
Coca Cola, Cisco Systems, General Electric, Lucent Technologies, Black
and Veatch, Motorola, and Merck, as well as smaller firms with cutting
edge U.S. technology, is visiting Pakistan March 14 –16. Several Pakistani
Americans are among the delegation members, bridging investment ties between
the two countries. Together, these companies represent nearly one trillion
dollars in market capitalization. USPBC’s visit is a concrete demonstration
of the U.S. and Pakistan governments successful cooperation with the private
sector to build trade ties and increase American investment in Pakistan.
The United States - Pakistan Business Council (USPBC),
headed by Ahmet Bozer, President of Coca Cola’s Eurasia and the Middle
East Division, will meet top officials of the Government of Pakistan, including
President Musharraf, Prime Minister Aziz, Foreign Minister Kasuri, Finance
Advisor Salman Shah, Commerce Secretary Noorani, Industries, Production
and Special Initiatives Minister Tareen, Information Technology Minister
Leghari, and Privatization Minister Shaikh.
U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C. Crocker will host
a briefing and a reception for the group, and U.S. Embassy Economic Counselor
Joel Reifman will host a lunch. USPBC will also meet the American Business
Council and the Board of Investment (BOI). The BOI will host a working
lunch and Commerce Minister of State Hirzaj will host a dinner.
“Pakistan and the United States are natural trade and
investment partners,” said USPBC Executive Director of the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce Esperanza Gomez, who is coordinating the visit. She noted that
the United States is Pakistan’s top trade partner, the leading foreign
investor in Pakistan ($238 million 2004), an emerging investor in its stock
markets, and the leading source of remittances ($1.2 billion of $3.9 billion
total in 2004). The United States is Pakistan’s largest customer with more
than $3 billion in exports last year.
The United States and Pakistan signed a Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement (TIFA) during President Musharraf’s June 2003 Camp
David visit, which provides a forum for discussing trade problems and new
initiatives. The Science and Technology Cooperation (S&T) Agreement
was signed at the same meeting. Under the S&T agreement, the U.S. and
Pakistan are implementing 18 joint projects funded by $3 million from both
governments, further adding to Pakistan’s scientific base. The U.S. and
Pakistan are also addressing investment concerns of both countries with
the February
launch of Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) talks. The
next round of talks is proposed for May 2005 in Islamabad.
The United States is working with Pakistan to take economic
growth to the next stage, which requires that the Government of Pakistan
move forward on next generation economic and judicial reforms. The U.S.
and American investors are particularly interested in Pakistan’s efforts
to enforce intellectual property rights, shut down pirate optical disk
factories, quickly settle outstanding investment disputes, sign and implement
a bilateral investment treaty, implement solid anti-money laundering legislation,
and increase spending on education and healthcare programs.
http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/pakistan/h05031501.html
|