US plans to send 15 trade delegations to visit Pakistan next year

• Once the new expanded Development Finance Corporation is stood up, Pakistan is going to be a country of great interest, said US Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells.
• US firm Excelerate is prepared to potentially invest more than $300 million to upgrade a floating storage regassification unit in Pakistan’s first LNG terminal.

In order to expand trade relations, the United States has planned to send 15 trade delegations to Pakistan in 2020, said US Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells.

“The U.S. Commerce Department has already stepped up its activity in Pakistan with 15 trade delegations planned for the next year. And once the new expanded Development Finance Corporation or DFC is stood up, Pakistan is going to be a country of great interest,” stated a paper Wells read at a Washington think-tank, Wilson Centre, last week.

The paper added that the DFC will have more than double the investment cap than OPIC, increasing from 29 billion to 60 billion,” enabling projects that have high standards and are financially sustainable over the long haul.”

The paper further highlighted the commercial connections between Pakistan and USA. “The US firm Excelerate is prepared to potentially invest more than $300 million to upgrade a floating storage regassification unit in Pakistan’s first LNG terminal.  ExxonMobil has been working to support Pakistan’s ambitious effort to access new LNG supplies.

“Over the last five years PepsiCo has invested $800 million to expand its infrastructure and diversify products, and Coca-Cola has invested $500 million in the last couple of years, providing thousands of jobs for Pakistanis.  Uber Technologies entered the Pakistani market in 2016 and currently operates across nine cities, providing employment opportunities for thousands of Pakistanis.”