Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh has said that while Pak-U.S. ties have undergone several fluctuations over the past 77 years, trade has remained consistent with the U.S. continuing to be one of Pakistan’s largest markets.
“The U.S. is a huge market that simply cannot be catered to by any single country alone,” he said during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). “This is an area where I intend to work hard so that Pakistani products and services can be introduced alongside those of other competing countries,” he added.
To facilitate improvement in existing trade ties, the envoy urged KCCI to share research detailing U.S. companies that Karachi’s business community is engaged with already, as well as those they intend to collaborate with. This would help the Pakistan Embassy in enhancing existing trade and exploring additional avenues for trade and investment cooperation.
According to Sheikh, work is underway on war footings to revive Pakistan’s GSP-Plus status in the U.S. He claimed this was the right time to push for this initiative, as congressmen who had opposed it were not re-elected in this year’s U.S. elections.
On concerns of exporters on high interest rates and energy tariffs, he said he would convey the same to the government so Pakistani products and services could remain competitive in the U.S. and other international markets.
Highlighting Pakistan’s geostrategic importance, Sheikh opined that Pakistan cannot simply be ignored by the U.S. as it now the world’s 5th largest country by population. However, he said, it must be viewed through its own lens rather than from the perspectives of India, China, or any other country. “Pakistan’s textile sector is fully capable of supplying state-of-art products, comparable with any other country of the world, and we are also the largest importers of U.S. cotton,” he said. These “excellent” products, he said, could easily penetrate the U.S. market.
He recalled that since assuming office as Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. in August, one of his top priorities was holding a meeting with the KCCI in view of its pivotal role in Pakistan’s economy. “While Pakistan’s trade can be facilitated through various channels, Karachi stands as the city where the majority of the country’s international trade takes place,” he noted.
Sheikh appreciated the valuable insights shared during his meeting, emphasizing the importance to continue such dialogues regularly to foster stronger Pakistan-U.S. bilateral trade relations.
KCCI Seeks Better Pak-U.S. Ties
KCCI President Muhammad Jawed Bilwani emphasized the importance of strengthening Pakistan’s economic ties with the U.S. He said the ambassador’s experience and diplomatic acumen would prove pivotal in achieving this goal and boost Pakistan’s exports.
Noting that Pakistan’s economic landscape was gradually improving, he said this was an ideal time to shift focus toward increasing exports. Regretting that the high cost of doing business had hampered exports, he specifically pointed to elevated energy tariffs and interest rates. He urged Sheikh to encourage the government to reduce energy tariffs down and interest rates to improve the competitiveness and profitability of Pakistani exports.
Bilwani also lamented that Pakistan had fallen behind regional competitors India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam due to a series of misguided policies, particularly a failure to focus on value addition.
Apart from the ambassador and Bilwani, the meeting also included KCCI Senior Vice President Ziaul Arfeen; Vice President Faisal Khalil Ahmed; former presidents Majyd Aziz and Junaid Esmail Makda; and members of the KCCI Managing Committee.