U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan today to launch the first-ever U.S. – Pakistan Economic Partnership Week. Her visit is critical to the United States’ overall efforts to boost bilateral trade and investment with Pakistan.
Secretary Pritzker met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his office and joined him in inaugurating the week. “Global investors need to know that Pakistan is opening for business,” said Secretary Pritzker. “It is in the United States’ interest for Pakistan to be a stable, peaceful, and tolerant nation, with a growing economy, at peace with itself and its neighbors. This week, we will focus on ways to increase trade and commercial ties between our countries and create new opportunities for Pakistanis and Americans alike.”
U.S.-Pakistan Economic Partnership Week includes the third U.S.-Pakistan Business Opportunities Conference, a two-day event March 10-11; a working-level Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meeting between the Pakistani and U.S. governments; and several other bilateral engagements scheduled throughout the week.
Secretary Pritzker, who is on her first official visit to Pakistan, thanked senior government officials for their dedication to improving the U.S.-Pakistan economic relationship and acknowledged the economic relationship between the two countries has, over the years, buttressed the overall relationship and is still growing.