US companies’ successful ventures affirms Pakistan’s great business potential: Masood Khan

Abida Shaheen

Islamabad: Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, has urged American investors to take advantage of a growing Pakistani market of 240 million and also use the country’s strategic location for serving huge markets of Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa,

“An enterprising middle class and the growing needs of a developing economy have created big opportunities for the business community to establish as well as expand their businesses and to reap dividends by fulfilling the existing unmet demand,” he said during a meeting with senior executives of PepesiCo at the Pakistani embassy on Thursday, according to a press release.

PepsiCo senior directors — Mohammad Khosa and Caroline Berson — while noting the success of their company in Pakistan in beverages and food sectors, said that the country was serving as an export hub for its manufactured products to regional countries like Afghanistan. The finished food products, made in Pakistan, were also being exported to Qatar, Malaysia, and the Philippines, they said.

Khosa informed the ambassador that PepesiCo was making a yearly investment of $ 80-90 million in Pakistan, adding that it would be enhanced and diversified.

Ambassador Khan said that there was a need for better coordination among stakeholders to showcase the success stories of the business community in the two countries.

“Holding road shows and enhancing the frequency of business delegation exchanges would go a long way in promoting better linkages and business networks and helping the business communities to explore available business opportunities,” he said.

Discussing the proposal of holding of road-shows in major US cities like New York, Washington D.C, Houston, Chicago and Los Angeles, Masood Khan underscored the need for better collaboration among US companies working in Pakistan, the American Business Forum, the American Business Council and the US-Pakistan Business Chamber. He assured all possible facilitation by Pakistani missions in the United States.

The PepsiCo executives, according to the press release, expressed keen interest in organizing road shows and exhibitions in the US and agreed to explore the possibilities of establishing liaisons with other businesses and organizations.