Ties with Pakistan not limited, says US envoy
By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

ISLAMABAD—US Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker has said that the US-Pak strategic partnership was not limited to some fronts but covered cooperation in all sectors.
Addressing the meeting of American Business Council of Pakistan here on Thursday at local hotel, the envoy said that US values high its relationship with Pakistan and both countries enjoyed cordial relationship.
He said that Washington was encouraging business community to invest in Pakistan with an aim to consolidating ties at the people-to-people level instead of state level.
He expressed hope that the relationship of both countries would improve further with the passage of time. He said that the trade volume between the two countries would grow further. He said that Pak-US cooperation in Science & Technology, Economic and Education would further strengthen the friendly ties between the two countries.
“USA is the Pakistan’s largest trading partner as a largest customer of Pakistani exports and largest investor in Pakistan,” he said. “We are investing in Pakistan for the people of Pakistan,” he said. He said that US government was also providing assistance to Pakistan’s private sector to increase bilateral trade levels.
He also said that Pakistan’s compliance with Intellectual Property Rights (IPO) provisions, as stipulated by World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations, would pave the way for a US-Pak free trade agreement.
He said that Pakistani government should promote technical education in the country by private sector and US would provide assistance in this regard. He said that the establishment of Center of Excellence for Business Administration in Karachi would train young people in this sector.
He lauded the role of American Business Council of Pakistan for promoting economic ties between the two countries and said that the US government is tried to encourage business community to come forward and play its role in this regard.
Earlier, Iqbal Bengali welcomed the US Ambassador in the meeting and said that American Business Council of Pakistan (ABC) has completed 22 years of service to Pakistan and played a major role in being a bridge to investment from USA.
He said that USA is on top of the list for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and has averaged 30 percent of total FDI. He said that ABC currently has 61 members -most of them whom are fortune 500 companies, which operate, in different sectors.
He said that ABC’s objectives for current year are level playing field covering combating corruption and smuggling as well as transparency in government decision making and access to information, IPR-patents, copyrights, trade marks, data exclusivity and counterfeits and effective enforcement, law and order and security, deregulation specifically for pharmaceutical and oil marketing companies and taxation issues corporate and personal taxation including refunds.