The Chicago-based Central Asian Productivity Research Center (CAPRC) held its 16th Annual Silk Road Conference at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Mr. Tariq Karim, Consul General of Pakistan in Chicago, was invited to speak on “Business Opportunities in Pakistan”.
Speaking at the occasion, the Consul General emphasized Pakistan’s significance as an important business and investment destination. In this regard, he highlighted various factors including: Pakistan’s geo-strategic location that makes it a premier trade, energy and transport corridor providing the shortest route to the sea; Pakistan’s market size and large pool of trained professionals; country’s shifting focus from geo-politics to geo-economics with greater emphasis on peaceful neighborhood, regional connectivity and economic development as well as liberalization of investment regime in Pakistan.
Consul General Tariq Karim highlighted the colossal loss and devastation caused by the catastrophic climate-induced floods in Pakistan. He emphasized the need for the International community to support Pakistan in tackling this unprecedented natural disaster, especially in view of the fact that Pakistan was bearing the brunt of climate change despite its negligible contribution to global carbon emission. He said that effects of floods will linger for years to come with enormous resources required for rehabilitation and reconstruction phase. Appreciating the international assistance for flood victims, he highlighted that Pakistan needed more as initial estimates indicated loss of more than $30 billion.
The Consul General shared success stories of Pakistan including: its fight against terrorism and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic; significant up-gradation of country’s infrastructure; opening of almost all sectors for foreign investment and improvement in ‘Ease of Doing Business’; Growing IT exports and rapid emergence of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem on the international stage with its thriving start-ups; and, emergence of Pakistan as one of the leading tourist destinations in the world.
The Consul General stated that Pakistan and the U.S., as important development partners, had enormous scope to further expand their collaboration in different sectors, including trade & investment, healthcare, energy, tech and agriculture. He also highlighted the rapidly growing bilateral trade volume and presence of 80 US multinational companies in Pakistan as success stories. The Consul General encouraged investors and entrepreneurs to benefit from business opportunities in Pakistan.
Pakistani handicrafts/cultural products were also displayed during the Silk Road Conference.
Chicago IL
October 7, 2022
October 7, 2022
