September 30, 2008	Tuesday	Ramazan 29, 2008

LAHORE, Sept 29: Ambassador Anne W. Peterson has said the United States wants long-term and broad-based relations with Pakistan and does not want to destabilise it.

Addressing businessmen and industrialists at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Monday, the ambassador said the US would not only announce a $100 million package for agriculture sector soon, but also reimburse the expenditure incurred on war on terror.

It would also provide $750 million assistance for increasing employment opportunities in tribal areas so that the people were not attracted towards terrorism. There was a little chance of improvement in tribal areas as long as the youngsters did not get jobs.

She said the US was convinced that the present government was extending maximum cooperation in war against terrorism. She said the US had lost the public relations battle in Afghanistan. No fundamental change was expected in US policies after its forthcoming presidential election.

She said Pakistan had a huge potential for development in IT and energy sectors but it would not be possible for the US to extend cooperation for nuclear energy development as it involved high cost and a lot of legislation.

She said the US continued to be the largest single investor and donor in Pakistan and the volume of trade between the two countries had been increasing despite some difficulties. As many as 90 new social sector development projects were in the pipeline and US was fully committed to work with Pakistan on the critical issue of increasing fuel and food prices.

Chamber president Mohammad Ali Mian said Pakistan and United States were not only partners in war against terrorism but also enjoyed remarkable trade relations which was evident from the fact that more than 80 US companies were working in Pakistan. Over 50 companies were located in Punjab and providing employment to more than 50,000 workers directly and over one million indirectly.

He said Pakistan should benefit from US expertise in commerce, industry, education and health sciences on account of being its close ally but its economic profile had been affected adversely instead. It was facing mass unemployment due to cancellation of export orders and did not expect further industrialisation and foreign investment. The sustainability of the existing industries was also at stake due to present wave of terrorism.

He said Pakistan textile industry was heavily dependent on US market. Almost 60 per cent of textile products were exported to US alone. It was providing manufacturing base to a large number of US brands. It, therefore, badly needed US support in shape of duty free access to markets to save the people of Pakistan who were fighting war against terrorism as a frontline state.

He said there was an increasing gap in demand and supply of electricity. Load-shedding and fuel shortages had seriously debilitated Pakistan's economy, causing large-scale unemployment leading to law and order problem and encouraging terrorism.

There was a need for direct funding to the industrial setup through institutions like the International Finance Corporation on low mark-up rates. The US embassy might also plead Pakistan's case among leading businessmen to invest in small and medium projects here.