Pakistani envoy invites US investment

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, invited American entrepreneurs and corporate leaders to invest in Pakistan’s IT, energy, agriculture, and mineral sectors during a meeting in Washington on Monday, according to a press release from the Pakistani embassy.

The ambassador highlighted the advantages identified by the US International Trade Administration for American investors, including no shareholding restrictions, simple work permit regulations, no technology transfer requirements, and a large entrepreneurial community in Pakistan.

“A new entity, the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), has been created to facilitate foreign inflows into these areas,” said Khan.

He pointed out that Pakistan is the world’s fourth-largest freelance provider, with over 20,000 ICT registered companies, and noted that the IT sector, especially tech startups, is rapidly growing.

He stressed that the power sector is a priority, with plans to double energy production from the current 45,000MW within a decade and transition quickly to renewable sources.

The ambassador also highlighted Pakistan’s rich mineral resources, including copper, gold, lead, zinc, iron ore, coal, lithium, rare earth elements, cobalt, aluminium, chromite, and nickel.

“Pakistan is developing human capital and expertise for manufacturing semiconductor chips for various electronic devices and Generative AI-supported devices,” Khan said. “Our lithium reserves, a key ingredient for battery production, will contribute to future sustainable energy solutions.”

Khan added that Pakistan is modernising its agriculture to increase yields of wheat, rice, cotton, lentils, and soybeans through the development of hybrid, climate-resistant seeds.

He detailed various incentives offered by the Pakistani government in all investment sectors and urged American sovereign wealth funds and investors to invest in IT, energy, agriculture, and mining.