Pakistani firms to attend Select USA Investment Summit

ISLAMABAD: US Ambassador David Hale announced on Saturday that seven
leading Pakistani companies from a range of industries will travel to Washington DC to participate in the Select USA Investment Summit being held from June 18 to 20.

The summit is America's highest profile annual event that connects global companies and US economic development organisations (EDOs) to facilitate business investment in the United States.  "For the first time, world class Pakistani companies will participate in the Select USA investment summit," Hale added.

"This summit is an important step in deepening economic ties between our nations."

Pakistan has been targeted as a key emerging market for Select USA given growing interest and capacity by Pakistani firms to expand internationally, including in America.

The delegation comprises representatives from Afeef Group, Dolmen Group, and Nishat Mills, among other industry leaders.

America is currently home to more foreign direct investment (FDI) than any other country in the world, with a total stock of $3.1 trillion at the end of 2015.  Many Pakistani firms have recently opened, started operations in, or are in the process of investing in the American market.

"We are entering a new period of economic revival in the United States," said American secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross.

"This is an exciting time for global companies to explore the American market and find partners that can help them create a footprint, expand operations, and achieve growth. There is no better place to make those connections than this summit.”

To date, representatives from 51 US states and territories and more than 65 international markets have registered for the 2017 investment summit.

The previous three summits attracted thousands of international investors,
with the 2016 summit alone attracting more than 2,600 total attendees, including investors from 70 markets and economic development organisations from 52 US states and territories.