press releases
U.S. Business Delegation Visits Pakistan
03/15/2005
Islamabad – 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.