The ambassador was addressing a gathering of business and political leaders in Delaware, where he also spoke to around 600 students from various institutions, articulating Pakistan's policies, its economic outlook and the vital role the country plays for peace and stability in the region.
He held out Islamabad's firm commitment to facilitate foreign investment through a range of measures and expressed confidence that next month's Business Opportunities Conference on March 10 and 11 would further expand Pakistan-US investment and trade relations. Over 200 American investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders will attend the Islamabad meeting, with a focus on joint ventures in energy, industrial and agricultural areas.
As a result of consistent reforms and pro-growth policies pursued by Islamabad, the Pakistani economy has been steadily picking growth from a mere three percent in 2012 to 5.5 percent expected this year, Jilani said at an event hosted by the Delaware Lahore Delhi Partnership for Peace.
According to a Delawareonline report, New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon and Tunde Durosomo, of the Wilmington Mayor's Office, were among the attendees. Durosomo, a senior adviser in the Wilmington Office of Economic Development, presented Ambassador Jilani with a key to the city.
In his remarks, Jilani particularly referred to the momentum the foreign investment has gathered in a sign of growing international confidence in the country's economic potential and vast business opportunities in a wide array of economic fields.
He also cited a range of macro-economic indicators that speak of the continuous economic improvement. Top financial institutions including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have acknowledged Pakistan's economic growth projections are going to surpass previous estimations while Moody's has upgraded the country's rating to positive.