A \u201crobust trade relationship\u201d between the United States and Pakistan is important to bolster the latter\u2019s economic stability, especially after last year\u2019s devastating floods, and expose American businesses to new markets, the US State Department has said.<\/p>\n
State Department spokesperson Ned Price made the remarks in response to a query at a weekly press briefing on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that a robust trade relationship between the United States and Pakistan is more important than ever to bolster Pakistan\u2019s economic stability as it recovers from devastating floods, while at the same time also providing an opportunity to Americans and to American businesses in this country, exposing them to new markets \u2014 Pakistani markets in this case,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The comments come at a time when Pakistan is looking for breakthroughs in talks on the US-Pakistan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).<\/p>\n
The two sides on Thursday held their first ministerial-level meeting of a Pak-US trade and investment body in seven years, where Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar sought greater cooperation in the IT sector.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the press today, Price referred to the meeting and reiterated the US commitment to \u201cdeepening our economic and commercial ties with Pakistan\u201d, adding the trade relationship has \u201chelped both Pakistani industries and consumers\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have long been Pakistan\u2019s largest export market, with potential for even further growth. And we believe there is great potential to expand bilateral trade with Pakistan further, particularly in energy, agricultural equipment and products, franchising, retail trade, information and communications technology products and services,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Price pointed out that the US was a leading investor in Pakistan for the past two decades, with investments increasing to 50 per cent in the past year.<\/p>\n
\u201cUS investment in Pakistan is the highest it\u2019s been in over a decade, and US corporations have announced more than $1.5 billion in investment plans in Pakistan since 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cUS companies and their local affiliates, moreover, are among Pakistan\u2019s largest employers, with roughly 80 US companies directly employing more than 120,000 Pakistanis,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A \u201crobust trade relationship\u201d between the United States and Pakistan is important to bolster the latter\u2019s economic stability, especially after last year\u2019s devastating floods, and expose American businesses to new markets, the US State Department has said. State Department spokesperson Ned Price made the remarks in response to a query at a weekly press briefing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-315753","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n