Presided over by Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, the day-long conference of Pakistan’s consul general in New York, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles came to an end on Sunday with a decision to actively engage with the community, enhance service delivery, and promote people-to-people ties with the United States, particularly through fostering business linkages.
As he urged further efforts to settle their differences, Ambassador Sheikh told the conference, “The Pakistani community is our biggest asset; It’s the most enduring link in Pak-US relations.”
“In order for our community to become more integrated, particularly in terms of professional organizations, we need to step up our efforts to do so,” he continued.
There were also trade and commercial officers from the respective Consulates in attendance.
The Consuls General informed the Ambassador of the services being provided to the community in their respective jurisdictions, including passports, visas, and other consular services, according to a press statement from the Pakistani embassy. During the meeting, the applicants’ different issues were examined, and it was determined to contact the appropriate federal and provincial government departments to find solutions.
According to the press release, the group also looked into the possibilities of expanding biometric verification services for bank account verification, land transfers, and car transactions.
During his speech, the ambassador also emphasized the importance of raising as much awareness as possible about the government’s recent steps to relax the visa requirements, particularly for tourists and businessmen.
Trade officers gave presentations on current initiatives to improve bilateral trade, including the actions taken to present Pakistani goods and link companies with possible US partners. The need of drawing capital to priority sectors—especially self-sufficient companies that may employ young people—was underlined by Ambassador Sheikh.
In order to link each industry with its equivalents in Pakistan, Ambassador Sheikh emphasized that the unique trade needs of every U.S. state should be investigated.
He pointed out that sister-state and sister-city agreements that are currently in place offer excellent templates for fostering such ties with other US states for mutual gain in addition to bolstering economic exchanges.
Additionally, he made the point that Pakistan’s tech-savvy youth were in a good position to offer IT solutions to American businesses at far lower costs. In a similar vein, Pakistan might be able to assist in supplying the United States with nurses and pharmacists.
The conference included ongoing initiatives to fortify current collaboration as well as Pakistan-US cooperation in the field of education.
