ISLAMABAD, Sept 27: Pakistan-US Business Council is being set up in Washington on September 30 to increase trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

“From our point of view the setting up of the council is very significant and will help increase American investment in Pakistan,” said the chairman, Board of Investment (BoI), Wasim Haqqie.

He told Dawn here on Friday that he was leaving for Washington on Saturday to attend the ceremony for establishing the council. He said the chairman, Export Promotion Bureau, will also attend the ceremony by taking with him 15-member delegation of the businessmen.

Mr. Haqqie said that inaugural speech of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has been recorded which will be played in the ceremony.

He said he saw a greater scope for joint ventures between the investors of the two countries after the establishment of the Business Council.

“I have met a few American businessmen today who have shown their keen interest to invest in Pakistan,” he said. He said one American Company with a name of SAG 10 was interested in investing in sweet water conversion plants. Initially, one such plant, he said, was being set up at Raiwind, Lahore.

The chairman, BOI, said that the United States was encouraging its investors to invest in Pakistan as the present government was offering all possible fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to the investors.

“The setting of the proposed business council will in fact open more avenues for greater cooperation between the two countries,” he added.