Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States (US), Masood Khan has said that the youth with its entrepreneurial skills, IT expertise and innovative approach was transforming Pak-US relationship by laying a solid foundation for a mutually reinforcing tech and trade ecosystem. “Mutual exchanges and networking among young professionals and business leaders would not only help strengthen our bilateral ties and trade relations but would also help dispelling misperceptions between the two counties,” he continued.

Masood Khan remarked this while talking to a group of 05 young entrepreneurs from Pakistan who are currently visiting the United States under US funded Professional Fellows Program (PFP). The PFP is a two-way, global exchange program aimed at promoting mutual understanding, enhancing professional skills, as well as building long-term partnerships among young professionals and business leaders. Participants from Pakistan are being hosted by University of Oklahoma and were attached with their counterparts in their respective trades.

Pakistani delegation comprised Mr. Ahsan Zia, Senior Program Officer Innovation, Livlihood and Private Sector Development Sarhad Rural Support Program, Mr. Khizar Ali Rizvi, Founding member Global Sharpers Hub Abbottabad, Natasha Mehmood Lead Trainer DEMO, Syeda Nayab CEO Nayab’s Rogue (Ro-go), Afrasiab Khan, Director Community Affairs Indigo Next and Ms. Kathy Adams from University of Oklahoma.

Members of the delegation terming it as an extremely productive visit vis-à-vis their professional pursuits and networking opportunities shared their rich experiences of their stay and working with their US counterparts. Sharing their positive impressions, the participants termed the visit as a great learning experience. They appreciated the hospitality of Oklahoma and said that the visit has increased their confidence. The participants also said that after witnessing the strength of US society and its systems, they feel the need to highlight inherent strengths of Pakistan for promoting greater people to people linkages.

Ms. Kathy Adams observed that the conduct and performance of the participant was outstanding. She evinced her keen interest in visiting Pakistan to experience mesmerizing beauty and landscape of the country.  Ambassador Masood Khan urged the participants to invite their counterparts to visit Pakistan to have firsthand experience about the diversity of Pakistani society and to explore abundant business opportunities available for young businessmen and entrepreneurs.

He thanked the US government and University of Oklahoma for hosting Pakistani participants and providing them with a unique opportunity for their personal and professional learning. Discussing Pak-US relations especially the trade ties between the two countries, the Ambassador said that U.S. was the largest trade destination for Pakistani products, with textiles, sports and leather goods, surgical instruments and IT products being major products, the Ambassador Khan termed IT and services sector driving the future trajectory of Pak-US trade ties. Pakistan’s IT exports to the United States stood at nearly $1 billion last year.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP