NEW YORK : The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has said that the US has spent over six trillion dollars to win the war on terror through force with little success therefore it should now consider using economic tools to achieve goals.
Talking to different American businessmen at New York on Tuesday, President FPCCI Ghazanfar Bilour said that the US should give trade relaxations to Pakistan and consider initiate the project of establishing Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (RoZs) in FATA, an idea which was dumped after years of negotiations between Pakistani and the US officials.
He said that the people with job opportunities that improve their quality of life are far less likely to become militants or suicide bombers.
The President FPCCI said that prosperity in the only way to bring peace to Afghanistan and Pakistan which will require a small fraction of resources wasted in the ongoing war on terror.
Ghazanfar Bilour said that US can also become part of the CPEC which will cement its deteriorating relations with Pakistan and China which has potential to derail the global economic recovery.
Meanwhile, the president of the Apex Chamber also met with the acting president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Rick Russo and discussed matters of mutual interest.
Ghazanfar Bilour and Rick Russo decided to ink a MoU for cooperation, improve strategic relations, exchange delegations, initiate joint ventures, and hold the single country exhibitions.
Brooklyn Chamber was informed about opportunities in the CPEC, infrastructure, energy and other sectors as reduced cost of doing business due to the availability of cheap labour was underlined.
At the occasion, Chairman Coordination FPCCI Malik Sohail said that Pakistan consumes 100 percent of the natural gas that it produces, so 51 trillion cubic feet of shale gas may be an area of future growth in Pakistan in which US companies can invest.
VP FPCCI Karim Aziz discussed cooperation in rice, steel and iron and said Thar Coal is another area which can prove very beneficial for the American investors.
SVP of Brooklyn Chamber Melissa Chapman, Project Manager Katheryn Benedetto, Vice President Ch. Shafique Anjum, President Mohmand Chamber Qaiser Khan, President Charsadda Chamber Sikandar Khan, SVP Swat Chamber Akbar Khan, Arsalan Khokar, Commercial Consular Mr. Irfan, and others were also present on that occasion.
