Pakistan offers “addictive profitability” and exceptional economic synergy with the United States, Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh told American policymakers and business leaders during an address on Thursday.
Speaking at the World Trade Center in Washington, the ambassador highlighted Pakistan’s dynamic IT sector, young and tech-savvy population, and untapped potential in technology, agriculture, and minerals as key investment avenues.
“From a futuristic standpoint, this unique complementarity between two mega countries in the world deserves focused attention, strategic recognition and concrete action,” he remarked.
The success, he also said, of over 80 US multinational companies in Pakistan for the past several decades reflects Pakistan’s profitability and potential as a regional trade hub.
Reflecting on the recent escalation between Pakistan and India, the Ambassador Sheikh reiterated that Pakistan does not seek conflict and values peace above all.
“While there is a sense of national pride over the success in thwarting aggression, we don’t want to do it again. We are a peace-loving country. At the very time this escalation took place, we were in the middle of a positive economic trajectory.”
Tracing longstanding political and economic relations between Pakistan and the United States, the top diplomat highlighted that the trade deficit between the two countries was insignificant. He pointed out that Pakistan ranked 33rd in terms of trade deficit with the United States — a modest figure of $3.1 to $3.4 billion.
“This is a manageable gap that can be bridged through increased imports, such as US cotton and soybeans. Pakistan is already one of the largest importers of American cotton, a key input for our thriving textile industry.”
Sheikh also added that discussions are ongoing with US agricultural councils, including the US Soybean Export Council and the Cotton Council, to deepen agricultural trade ties.
He highlighted the extraordinary potential for collaboration in the technology sector, underpinned by Pakistan’s youthful demographic, with 65% of the population under 30.
Pakistan offered a 70% cost advantage in IT services compared to the US and 20-30% to any of our global competitors, he further said.
“We are not only cost-effective but also quality-competitive, as demonstrated in some of the world’s most demanding technological arenas, as exemplified by the high-tech and singularly successful aerial combat on the night between the sixth and seventh of May.”
Noting the recent investments by Barrick Gold in Pakistan’s copper reserves and the interest evinced by US investors in the mineral wealth of the country, the envoy reiterated that Pakistan could be the next Saudi Arabia of copper.
“Pakistan intends to tokenise and digitise its mineral assets”, creating new avenues for US FinTech investment and collaboration, he noted.
Drawing a powerful parallel with Mexico’s role for the US, the ambassador described Pakistan as a connector country in South and Central Asia, uniquely positioned to facilitate trade between the US, China, and the broader region.
He also noted the important role of around one million Pakistani-American diaspora in strengthening bilateral ties and people-to-people contacts. “Our diaspora has done exceptionally well and can be a powerful force multiplier in amplifying and facilitating US-Pakistan economic engagement.”
Concluding his remarks, Pakistan’s top envoy invited US corporations, state governments, and economic stakeholders to explore a market of 250 million and take advantage of the huge economic opportunities available in the country.
<!–
–>
<!–
–>
#Pakistans #showcases #addictive #profitability #stakeholders
