KARACHI, Oct 13: The country’s largest and oldest industrial estate — SITE — has urged the government to seek US support for for setting up ‘qualifying industrial zones’ to produce duty and quota free products for the American market.

The United States is already giving such concessions to imports from Jordan, Kenya and some other countries.

This idea had been thrown up by a group of industrialists and some multinationals’ heads in a private meeting also attended by Nazim Karachi, Naimutuallh Khan.

The group asked the government to seek preferential status from the Washington on entering the Fast Trade Agreement (FTA), as is the case with some other countries.

The meeting was convened by chairman SITE investment and privatization sub-committee, Dr Ikhtiar Baig to discuss ways and means to increase investment, industrialization, employment and boost exports.

The consensus in the meeting was that US has to offer some incentives to attract local and foreign investments, considering the recent development in Pak-US relationship, which includes lifting of US sanctions and Pakistan’s outright support to US government towards their endeavours to eliminate terrorism in the region.

It was also strongly felt that Pakistan should seek compensation from the US against the damages caused to the country’s export trade since September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

The participants demanded that some export incentives should be sought from the US against the losses, particularly when the entire Gulf region had been declared a ‘war-risk’ area resulting in cancellation of export-import orders and increase in insurance tariffs and freight rates.

After lifting of sanctions it has been pointed out that there remains no justification or rational to hold back US insurance guarantees for the US investors in Pakistan. The reinstating this guarantee, the group felt, would increase the US investment. These suggestions had also been communicated to President Pervez Musharraf so that they could be taken up with the US government at an appropriate time.