Pak-American community to pave the way for stronger Pak-US economic ties: Sardar Masood Khan

Chicago, Oct 17 (SABAH,): “Pakistani-Americans should step forward and take advantage of huge investment opportunities existing in Pakistan,” said Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Sardar Muhammad Masood Khan. “IT, energy, mining and agriculture are ripe for investment. Invest with full confidence in these project for big wins,” he continued.

“Pakistani-Americans have already invested heavily in Pakistan in businesses ranging from hospitality, hotels, hospitals, telephony, medical transcription and billing, diagnostics, fin-tech, health-tech and tele-medicine. All they need is to scale up their investments,” he said. “Invest in Pakistan and invest in the future of Pakistan and Pakistan-US relations,” he stressed.

Ambassador Masood Khan made these remarks during his two separate interactions with leading Pakistani-American entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders in Chicago and also during his interaction with Pakistani Student Association at DePaul University Chicago. “You are a bridge between Pakistan and the United States. Your proactive role in encouraging US businesses to explore untapped potential of Pakistan would serve as a force multiplier in strengthening our economic ties and bringing our peoples closer to each other,” he continued. During his interaction with Pakistani-American community leaders at the residence of the Consul General, Masood Khan highlighted the growing numbers and increasing role of Pakistani-Americans in various fields in the United States observing that “your role as a bridge, connecting the two nations, has become invaluable for fostering stronger relations between Pakistan and the United States.” He encouraged the community leaders to play a proactive role in promoting people to people ties, connecting businesses and removing misperceptions about the two countries.

Congressman Jonathan Jackson, who was also present on the occasion, commended the Pakistani-American community for their dedication and contributions to American society. Congressman Jackson expressed his commitment to enhancing Pakistan-US relations, recognizing the important role of the community in achieving this goal. Masood Khan urged Pakistani-American community leaders to channel their time and energy wisely, emphasizing that their progress and integration into American society have positive implications for both the nations. Separately, interacting with leading businessmen and entrepreneurs of OPEN Global Chicago at a dinner hosted in his honor by a prominent Pakistani-American entrepreneur and CEO of Chestnut Health Mr. Omair Siraj, the Ambassador reiterated his call to scale up investments in Pakistan and reap the benefits of investor friendly regime of the country. “We are here to assist you in your endeavors to nurture existing enterprises and starting new ones,” he said. He said that facilitation and incentivisation were hallmark of country’s strategy to attract foreign investment and promote business activities in the country. The Ambassador also highlighted the critical role of Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in streamlining business operations and removing obstacles in way to undertaking profitable business ventures in the country. Recounting various incentives, Masood Khan said that in IT sector the country offered income tax credit on IT exports, zero income tax on registered tech start-ups, tax holiday for venture capital funds, 100% repatriation of dividends and investments, commercial loans at preferential rates. In agriculture sector, “the foreign investor will be allowed to hold 60% of agricultural project, whereas 100 % holding rights would be admissible for corporate agriculture farming,” said the Ambassador.

During interactive session with Pakistani Student Association (PSA) of DePaul University Chicago, Masood Khan emphasized upon their role as cultural ambassadors and the future leaders and builders of Pak-US relations . Masood Khan impressed upon the students to devote their time to their studies, learn from rich educational environmental of the United States and contribute to Pakistan’s economy. He said that as future leaders, they should invest their time and energy in acquiring expertise in new technologies, especially generative artificial intelligence, corporate agriculture and post-modern industrial transformation. Masood Khan said that studying in the United States was a great opportunity for them to learn new skills and to build educational, scientific and cultural ties.

The Pakistani Student Association at DePaul University welcomed this opportunity to engage with the Ambassador, and the event served as a platform for students to gain valuable insights, guidance, and motivation from the Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States.