PM Khan asks Pak-American investors to take advantage of Pakistan’s economic opportunities

ISLAMABAD: Shortly after landing in Washington DC, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan met with members of the Pakistani-American business community and encouraged prospective investors and entrepreneurs to benefit from economic opportunities in Pakistan.
Khan is on his first official, three-day visit to the US and will meet President Donald Trump in the White House with talks expected to focus on strengthening bilateral ties, trade and the US-Afghanistan settlement.
Scores of Pakistani expats lined up in the sweltering heat to welcome the Prime Minister’s motorcade as it made its way to Pakistan House, the ambassador’s residence in DC where Khan has opted to stay in place of a hotel for austerity purposes.
Earlier, he was received by senior officials of the US State Department, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was already present there, as well as Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, Dr. Asad Khan.
After his meeting with the business community in DC, a statement from the Prime Minister’s office said Khan had “invited businessmen and investors to benefit from the economic and business opportunities afforded by Pakistan’s strategic location and the connectivity to the broader region.”
The Prime Minister is expected to make an address at 4 p.m. EST at Washington DC’s Capital One Arena where up to 20,000 people are expected to attend this evening, local media reported.
In a first, the Prime Minister is also accompanied by Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, as well as the head of the country’s intelligence agency and military spokesperson.
While talking to reporters at the Pakistani embassy in Washington, military spokesman, Major General Asif Ghafoor, said that the army chief would accompany PM Khan during his meeting with President Trump at the White House on Monday. He will also visit the Pentagon to hold talks with US military leadership, he said.
On Saturday, it was revealed by two senior officials that the Prime Minister’s invitation to visit the US and meet President Trump had been arranged through direct assistance from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.