FPCCI delegation to visit US in August

ISLAMABAD: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Atif Ikram Sheikh will head a business delegation to the United States in August this year, as the apex trade body moves to strengthen commercial engagement with Washington through a newly formed institutional platform.

Under the FPCCI, the Pakistan-USA Business Council has been formally set up to institutionalise and broaden bilateral trade, investment and cooperation between the private sectors of Pakistan and the United States.

The council held its first meeting at the FPCCI president’s office in Islamabad. The session was convened by Malik Sohail Hussain, chairman of the Pakistan-USA Business Council.

Representatives of the US Embassy in Islamabad also attended the meeting, including Jay Kim and Ayan Ali Khan from the Economic and Trade Section.

First council meeting held in Islamabad

In his opening remarks, Sohail Hussain said the creation of the council represented an important development in efforts to build a more structured framework for economic engagement between Pakistan and the United States.

He said the US remained one of Pakistan’s key trading partners and an important source of investment, innovation and technology transfer. He added that Pakistan offered considerable opportunities across a range of sectors, including information technology, textiles, agriculture, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, minerals and entrepreneurship.

"The Pakistan-USA Business Council is being developed as a structured institutional platform to deepen trade linkages, facilitate investment flows, and enable sustained private-sector engagement between both countries," Hussain said.

During the meeting, Karim Aziz Malik, chairman of the President Secretariat, was co-opted onto the council’s board of directors.

Trade, investment and business links discussed

Participants reviewed ways to expand trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. They also discussed the exchange of business delegations and the arrangement of joint networking events in Pakistan and the United States.

The council stressed the importance of business-to-business engagement and policy facilitation to improve commercial cooperation.

The planned visit by the FPCCI-led delegation in August is part of these broader efforts to promote stronger private-sector ties and create more regular channels of interaction between businesses in both countries.

The establishment of the Pakistan-USA Business Council under the FPCCI is aimed at providing a formal mechanism for sustained engagement on trade and investment matters, while also supporting collaboration in sectors identified during the meeting.

The discussions at the inaugural session focused on building practical avenues for cooperation and maintaining momentum through institutional contact, delegation exchanges and networking initiatives involving stakeholders from both sides.