Founder Chairman of Pak-US Business Council and Chairman United Business Group Iftikhar Ali Malik has felicitated Donald Trump for his electoral victory. Iftikhar Ali Malik in a statement on Wednesday said the Pakistani business community has the pleasure of extending its warm congratulations to Donald Trump on his election as president of the United States of America and urged him to play a leading role in issues such as boosting the economy, solving climate change and improving relations with the developing countries, especially Pakistan.
Malik said it is new era and they hope that the newly-elected president of the USA will acknowledge and appreciate Pakistan's sincere efforts and colossal sacrifices in the war against terrorism. He said the United States is an important partner of Pakistan in all areas especially in the spheres of economy, defence and counter terrorism. He said Pakistan looked at its relations with the US as a partnership which was in the interest of two countries, region and the world.
He further said Donald Trump will understand the role of Muslims shaping the modern America which were part of the US from its very beginnings. He said Trump, as he hinted earlier, could also play his role of a "mediator or arbitrator" in appeasing the current flare-up of tensions between India and Pakistan. "For too long, the US has viewed the bilateral relationship only through the prism of Afghanistan. To achieve real progress, the US must make clear its enduring commitment to Pakistan's stability and economic growth and this is only possible if America plays its role to solve the issue of Kashmir," he added.
He said no durable progress is possible until peace restored in South Asia. Malik further said the United States and Pakistan should expand cooperation on the 2013 Joint Action Plan on Trade and Investment as the United States remains Pakistan's largest bilateral export market and a significant source of foreign direct investment.
He said the United States is Pakistan's largest bilateral trading partner.
"It is estimated that at least 500,000 members of the Pakistani diaspora reside in the United States. In 2015, the United States accounted for approximately 16 percent of Pakistan's exports, the second largest market behind the European Union, and $1.20 billion of its imports. Bilateral trade between the United States and Pakistan exceeded $5.1 billion in FY2015. The United States is also one of the top sources of foreign direct investment to Pakistan with $209 million in 2015," he mentioned. He said it would be in the interest of both the countries to enhance their trade volume which had been hovering around $5 billion for the last five years.
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