NEW YORK: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday sought preferential trade access to the US market to boost bilateral trade between Pakistan and the United States.
“We seek preferential trade access to the US market so that Pakistan and US businesses get a fair chance of doing business with each other. Such an arrangement is necessary to boost bilateral trade,” the prime minister said while speaking at a luncheon co-hosted by the US-Pakistan Business Council (USPBC) and the US Chamber of Commerce.
He expressed hope that the US Chamber of Commerce and the USPBC would play their role in bringing the two countries closer on this and in convincing the US administration and Congress for its need. “This will go a long way in strengthening the relationship between the two countries, their people and businesses,” he added. The prime minister said he firmly believed that a strong trade and economic relationship was an essential pre-requisite for a stable, long-term people to people relations. The United States has remained an important economic and trading partner of Pakistan, he said, adding, this partnership has been beneficial for private businesses of both countries and instrumental in fostering growth in Pakistan. “However, the level of trade and investment between the two countries has not kept pace with global trends,” he said and mentioned that recognising this, both President Obama and he agreed in their meeting in October 2013 to jointly work on developing a Joint Action Plan to expand bilateral trade and investment flows over the next five years.
“I see tremendous potential to deepen trade, economic and investment cooperation between our two countries. Your role as business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs is critical in enabling our two governments to fully harness the potential,” he added.
He said turning around the economy, overcoming the energy crisis, combating extremism and terrorism and investing in education have been the key priorities of his government ever since assuming office in June 2013. “I am, therefore, particularly pleased to share with you the details of the progress achieved by Pakistan,” he added. The prime minister said as a result of bold economic reforms, his government had achieved significant improvement in all major economic indicators. Pakistan’s growth has increased and the budget deficit has been reduced, he added.
He said with a young and vibrant population of 200 million, growing consumer demand, as well as a stable economy and improved security, Pakistan offered enormous opportunities for profitable investment and trade. Giving an overview of some of the key economic indicators in Pakistan, the prime minister said inflation is now well below 3% – the lowest in 47 years.
The State Bank of Pakistan in its Monetary Policy Decision announced in May 2016 decreased the discount rate to 5.75% – again lowest in last 4 decades, he said, adding that upgradation of the Karachi Stock Exchange to Emerging Market Index by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) was an important development.
The Boeing International Operations and Policy director expressed his desire that Boeing wanted to partner with PIA and was ready to offer 777 and 787 planes for PIA Premier Service through transparent and competitive process.
The Proctor and Gamble Selling and Marketing Operations president said that the company has already achieved 20 percent increase in its growth in Pakistan. “We are ready to further invest $100 million in Pakistan.”
Besides US Chamber executive vice president, senior vice president of US Chamber of Commerce and USPBC president, Pepsi Co vice chairman, Motorolla Solutions senior vice president, APR Energy chairman, Citi Bank vice chairman, Visionnet Systems CEO, EPC executive vice president, Metlife associate general counsel, McLarty Associates senior adviser and Agilvy Public Northrop Grumman CEO were prominent attendees during the occasion.
