U.S. Embassy Connects Pakistani and American Entrepreneurs

Islambad, December 23, 2011

Contact: Mark Stroh,
Spokesperson
0308-555-0591

For Immediate Release
207/2011

The U.S. Embassy brought business people together today by hosting a roundtable discussion with local entrepreneurs and business students featuring two prominent Pakistani-American businessmen. The “Building Bridges Through Business” forum promoted ideas to increase Pakistan’s economic development and move the U.S.-Pakistani relationship from aid to trade. Entrepreneurship, with its focus on boosting job creation, is an effective way to improve economic growth and business connections between Pakistanis and Americans.

U.S. Embassy Mission Director of Communications Thomas Miller noted that the United States promotes increases in trade to help Pakistan meet its economic and social development needs, a mutual interest of the bi-national relationship. Prominent Pakistani-American businessmen Awais Khan and Shahid Ahmed Khan shared their insights with local Pakistani entrepreneurs. Mr. Awais Khan, President and CEO of the American Pakistan Foundation
(AFP), discussed his organization’s programs that aimed to increase economic opportunities in Pakistan. Shahid Ahmed Khan, a social entrepreneur and pharmaceutical consultant, said that increased economic opportunities could mobilize groups for positive social and political change in Pakistan.

Currently, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports several projects helping Pakistanis meet their economic needs. Working with the Pakistan Economic Growth forum, USAID supports business entrepreneurs, promotes policy reform, and strives to improve the business environment. One such project helps small and medium-sized business owners in Punjab, Sindh, FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Baluchistan build their businesses and create jobs in the community.

For more press releases and information on Pakistan – U.S. relations, please visit our Website: http://islamabad.usembassy.gov