Pakistan Consul General To Los Angeles Visits LCCI

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Pakistan Consul General to Los Angeles visits LCCI

Consul General to Los Angeles Asim Ali Khan says the United States represents a significant and potential export market for Pakistan.

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Jan13rd, 2023) Pakistan Consul General to Los Angeles Asim Ali Khan visited LCCI on Friday to learn about the challenges being faced by the business community in doing business with United States of America.

The meeting with LCCI President Kashif Anwar continued for well an hour which was also attended by Senior Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Mahmood, Vice President Adnan Khalid Butt and Executive Committee Members.

The Consul General said that said that the United States represents a significant and potential export market for Pakistan. The Chambers of Commerce are responsible for informing the consulate of what may be done to advance trade between the two nations.

The Consul General said that United States is a huge market which is also called the land of opportunities. Pakistan Consulate in Los Angeles will extend every possible help to Pakistani business community to explore the trade and investment opportunities there. He said that the consulate has the access to 10 states including California.

He said that all the embassies of Pakistan have a commercial counselor and TDAP representatives. He said that the consulate will ensure B2B liaison between the two countries.

He said that the purpose of an embassy is that when the citizens of that country come there, they feel that they have an office there which can resolve their issues. He said that the consulate will do whatever it can according to the realistic expectations.

The consulate will convey event-related information to the concerned platforms. He said that if the business community will say that another country is getting a facility but not Pakistan, the matter will be resolved politically. He said that Pakistan is an open market and there are no export barriers. He said that Pakistani business community should be out of compliancy and see that what can they achieve through aggressive approach.

He further stated that the growth pattern of all the sectors in US is not as fast as the growth of IT sector. Pakistani businessmen should also focus this particular area.

LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that Pakistan has a very old diplomatic relationship with the US which started in 1947. Both the countries cooperate with each other in almost all spheres of life, including bilateral trade, defense, social and cultural relations.

He said that Pakistani exporters, who want to participate in the exhibitions in US, get appoint in the US Embassy in six to eight month.

In such a scenario, how can they explore the potential?

He said that we have to do work for tax net expansion, exports boost, imports reduction and increase in foreign remittances. He said that expatriate Pakistanis should be encouraged to invest in Pakistan.

He said that United States has been Pakistan's largest export destination for a long time, while still 20% of our exports go to America. In this regard, these statistics are very important that from 2007 to 2018, the volume of Pakistan's exports to America was $ 3 billion which increased to a little over $ 4 billion in 2019 and 2020. For the first time in history, our export volume has reached about $6.8 billion in 2021-22 which is very encouraging.

The LCCI President said that in the last two years, there has also been an improvement in our imports from the US, which have increased from $2.5 billion in 2020-21 to $3.1 billion in 2021-22. It is imperative that we continue to maintain this positive trend. He said that the volume of exports to the United States can increase to at least 10 billion Dollars.

He said that Pakistan is in dire need of increasing its exports as our trade deficit has reached $17 billion in six months of the current financial year (Jul-Dec 2022). It has become inevitable for us to reduce imports, but in comparison to this, we urgently need to increase our exports.

Kashif Anwar said that for this purpose, the commercial sections of our embassies abroad should prepare survey reports about the markets of Pakistan and America and send them to the chambers of Commerce so that they can guide the business community of both countries.

He said that both countries have already signed the Trade & Investment Framework Agreement to promote trade and investment. Now we need to pave the way for the Free Trade Agreement.

He said that Pakistan’s Consul General to Loss Angeles will use his influence help increase the links between the private sectors of the two countries, the existing trade relations can be further improved. He said that the trade fairs and exchange of trade delegations can also play an important role in this regard.

“Apart from this, the investors should also be encouraged to invest in energy sector, mobile device, electric vehicle and housing and construction sectors etc. in Pakistan”, he said and added that America is considered a giant in terms of modern technology. We also need to strive for technology transfer. If a model like Silicon Valley is implemented in Pakistan, our IT Graduates will get opportunities to earn valuable foreign exchange for the country apart from employment.

The LCCI President said that it is important to mention here that the Lahore Chamber has a very good working relationship with the US Consulate in Lahore and the two institutions continue to meet from time to time. This helps us to further develop trade and investment initiatives.

Senior Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Mahmood called for a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries saying that Pakistani exporters face duty barrier in US while there is a zero rating for India and Bangladesh. That’s why Pakistani exporters have to export through third country.

Abdullah Hussain

Abdullah Hussain is a staff member who writes on politics, human rights, social issues and climate change.