US official sees vast investment potential in Pakistan
1 hour, 21 minutes ago
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - A senior US trade official praised Pakistan’s economic turnaround and said Washington’s key military ally provided a potentially lucrative market for American investors.
Franklin Lavin, US Under Secretary for International Trade, told a news conference in Islamabad he had held detailed talks with Pakistani officials on a proposed investment treaty between the two countries.
“Pakistan’s economy is performing extremely well, where we see year on year growth among the highest in the world,” he said.
"We see GDP](http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=GDP) (gross domestic product) strength, we see employment strength, and the micro indicators across the board are doing very well.
“There is an enormous potential for US investment in Pakistan.”
Pakistan last month increased its year to June 2006 growth forecast to 6.3-6.8 percent, up from the 6.0-6.6 percent predicted in December 2005, but still lower than the 8.2 percent achieved in the previous fiscal year.
The US official who is here on his maiden trip as part of the ongoing Strategic Partnership Dialogue between the two countries, said bilateral trade was improving.
“The numbers are improving nicely both ways. Trade is up, investment is up, technology transfer is up… so there is a lot of good news.”
He said US imports from Pakistan had registered a significant increase in the past few years. The United States is Pakistan’s largest partner for both trade and investment.
The armed forces of Pakistan and the United States, which has some 19,000 troops deployed in neighbouring Afghanistan, coordinate closely to root out Al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants in the region.
Islamabad provided key logistical and intelligence support for US operations in Afghanistan that led to the ousting of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060505/pl_afp/pakistanustrade;_ylt=Asldb4MLRmk0vfJC59ZYazMBxg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA–
I hope international investors are listening 
:k: