US market offers many openings for exports to Pakistan and the entrepreneurs should accelerate efforts to capitalize on these opportunities to increase exports and earn more foreign exchange for the country. This was said by Asim Ali Khan, Pakistan’s Consul General-designate to Los Angeles, USA while addressing the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

Asim Ali Khan said that the business community should identify specific products that may have good potential to penetrate the US market and assured that he would extend all possible facilitation to them for improving exports to the USA. He said that the business community should share problems and issues being faced by them in doing business with the USA and he would try to take up them with the relevant authorities for redress. He said that ICCI should arrange his meeting with local IT companies to discuss ways and means to further improve exports of the IT sector with the USA. He assured that he would share business related information with ICCI so that its members would be able to take advantage of the available business prospects in the US market.

Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the annual turnover of USA in 2021 was over US$ 4600 billion, but Pak-US bilateral trade was reportedly up to US$ 12 billion, which was not reflective of the actual potential of both countries. He said that Pakistan has good potential to improve exports of IT products and services to the USA and Pakistan's foreign mission in the USA should cooperate with the private sector in improving exports with this huge market. He said that many other products of Pakistan including pharmaceuticals, cutlery, women-made products and others can find good markets in the USA. He assured that ICCI would like to work closely with Pakistan’s Consul General in Los Angeles to explore new avenues of promoting trade and economic relations with the USA.

Sheikh Muhammad Ijaz, Akhtar Hussain, Khalid Chaudhry and others also spoke at the occasion and shared useful ideas for further increasing business and investment relations with USA.