Pak-US diaspora wins praise

Islamabad : At a US-Pakistani diaspora conference here on Wednesday, United States Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Andrew Schofer highlighted the valuable contributions of the US-Pakistani diaspora, which is a key partner in the humanitarian, social, and commercial sectors in Pakistan.

Deputy Chief of Mission Schofer highlighted the longstanding US-Pakistan partnership to advance Pakistan’s economic growth and emphasized continued opportunities for future partnership. “As the Green Revolution improved lives in the past, a ‘Green Alliance’ between the United States and Pakistan will help us jointly strengthen climate resilience, develop clean energy alternatives, and foster economic growth,” he said.

At the event, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) signed four partnership memoranda of understanding with U.S.-Pakistani diaspora entities: Organisation of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America, Silicon Valley to promote technology and digital investments in Pakistan and support Pakistani startups; SARCMedIQ to improve the health digital ecosystem in Pakistan; The Crescent Charity Foundation to support physical infrastructure in flood-affected areas of Pakistan; and PakFoods to improve humanitarian and social development outcomes for Pakistan.

At the conference, which was sponsored by the US Mission in Pakistan in close coordination with the US-Pakistani diaspora entity Organisation of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America, Silicon Valley fundamental challenges and opportunities in the technology sector of Pakistan were discussed and deliberated.

More than 300 participants attended in person, including members of the

US-Pakistani diaspora, p­r­o­­m­­inent local business leaders, and Pakistani officials, including Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Commerce, and Zeeshaan Shah, the Prime Minister’s Ambassador at Large for Investments.

USAID Mission Director Reed Aeschliman said, “The conference was an opportunity to highlight some of the contributions and investments already made by the Pakistani diaspora, facilitate collaborations between Pakistani diaspora entities, and develop a road map for collective action to address the current economic, humanitarian and social challenges in Pakistan.”

He said the US was firmly committed to engaging and partnering with the US-Pakistani diaspora to address Pakistan’s challenges in the technology, humanitarian, social and commercial sectors and to further Pakistan’s development goals.