Investment to strengthen ties: US ambassador

P&G executives all praise for local employees.

KARACHI:
Commercial projects of US-based companies in Pakistan demonstrate the US government’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations, according to US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter.

He said this at the inaugural ceremony of a Procter & Gamble (P&G) plant at Port Qasim on Tuesday. “We are pleased to see American companies investing in Pakistan. Such investment will further improve relations.”

The second P&G manufacturing facility in the country will churn out the company’s brand of detergent, Ariel. Previously, the detergent was being imported into the country.

“Ariel has been marketed in Pakistan through imports but from now on we will manufacture one of our most popular products at this plant,” said P&G Vice Chairman Global Household Care Dimitri Panayotopoulos. “This project is a milestone for our company. We have trained and will train hundreds of graduates from Pakistan for our plants.”

Sherif Gomaa, Product Supply Director at P&G, said that the local team of talented young professionals made it possible to complete the project within two years.


Vice President Global Operations Werner Geissler added that there are more than 50 qualified Pakistani professionals working on challenging assignments across the world within P&G.

In addition to providing direct employment to 160 people, it is estimated that the plant will generate close to 3,500 job opportunities over a 10-year period.

Although the company hopes to double the local supplier base by next year, the production plant secures about 40 per cent of the raw material from within Pakistan.

Welcoming the investment, acting Governor Sindh and Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khoro said: “I urge the business community to bring in more investment and train more people. We would like to see more investment in Sindh, especially Karachi.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2010.
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