Govt invites US-based Pakistani business leaders to invest in homeland

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday addressed gatherings of Pakistani-American business leaders, including twenty entrepreneurs, technologists and financiers, more than a third of them former Fortune 500 executives, and invited them to bring their capital, networks and expertise to Pakistan. Addressing the gathering, the minister said Pakistan stands at a defining moment in its history, where recent gains in national security, diplomacy and macroeconomic stability must now be translated into sustained economic growth, read an official statement. “Pakistanis abroad remain deeply connected to their homeland, and the Pakistani-American community in particular has distinguished itself across every field, from technology and finance to healthcare, energy and academia,” the minister said. “After the difficult but necessary reforms undertaken under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the country has restored macroeconomic stability, brought inflation down, eased policy rates, and earned international recognition as one of the world’s leading economic turnaround stories. The vision is there. The economy has been rebuilt. What we need now is your capital, your networks and your expertise.” Iqbal emphasised that Pakistan’s constructive role in promoting regional peace has strengthened investor confidence and created new opportunities for trade and international partnerships, and that the time is right for overseas Pakistanis to include Pakistan in their professional and investment portfolios. Most members of the delegation are already involved in multiple investments and philanthropic efforts in Pakistan, and the engagement was designed to deepen that ongoing relationship into a structured partnership around the government’s URAAN-Pakistan economic agenda. Iqbal used the session to lay out the URAAN-Pakistan target of a $1 trillion economy by 2035 and a $3 trillion economy by 2047, anchored to the 5Es framework: Exports, E-Pakistan, Environment and Climate Change, Energy and Infrastructure, and Equity and Empowerment. He named information technology, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, mining and minerals, the blue economy, skilled manpower and creative industries as priority export sectors. The minister assured the diaspora that the government is committed to creating an enabling environment for investment and entrepreneurship, and expressed confidence that with the active participation of overseas Pakistanis, Pakistan can achieve its economic ambitions and emerge as a globally competitive, knowledge-based economy. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening Pakistan’s knowledge economy through deeper engagement with the Pakistani-American academic and research community, including through partnerships with the University of Illinois Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, and the wider US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor. He also highlighted ongoing work to engage overseas Pakistani experts in support of Pakistan’s AI readiness and technological transformation.