ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi Tuesday invited the American Business Council (ABC) of Pakistan to take advantage of Pakistan’s virgin territory particularly the huge hotel and tourism industries of its scenic northern parts.
Speaking at American Business Council dinner reception here, the president said after improvement in the security situation and ease of doing business by the government, Pakistan was good for all kinds of businesses and its tourism industry had great potential.
The president said huge influx of tourists was witnessed last year in Northern parts of the country, adding that in 2014 15,000 to 20,000 tourists visited northern areas of Pakistan while in 2019 the number of tourists increased to two million, which showed people were thronging to these beautiful places despite lack of resources and infrastructure.
The president said Pakistan was a virgin territory because of the security situation and now it was opening up as a beautiful Iceland of hospitality.
The president said American Business Council had been working in Pakistan for the last 36 years and it had contributed to the country’s economy. He said there was a good relationship between Prime Minister Imran Khan and US President Donald Trump, adding the US President wanted to build stronger economic and trade ties with Pakistan which would benefit both the countries.
US Ambassador to Pakistan Paul Jones, who is also President of the American Business Council of Pakistan while speaking on the occasion said the commerce and trade relationships between Pakistan and the United States of America were really a great unsung story.
He said the USA was by more than double Pakistan’s largest export market, adding that the US was a long term trading investor in Pakistan and was among the top five investors here in Pakistan.
He said “We are proud of our relationships with Pakistan, adding that leaders of both the countries were also interested to bring further improvement in this relationship.
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafiz Shaikh, Advisor on Trade Abdul Razak Dawood, Chairman Kashmir Committee Sayed Fakhar imam, Parliamentarian, and businessmen also attended the dinner reception
