After the bilateral Strategic Dialogue meeting in Islamabad today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a series of programs to promote broad-based and private sector-led economic growth and job creation for the people of Pakistan in support of the government’s economic reform program. The programs will be administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA).
- JSPE Private Equity Fund II: OPIC will provide $50 million toward the JS Private Equity Fund II LLC, which has a target capitalization of $150 million, to support a private equity investment fund designed to invest in companies in Pakistan that could benefit from technological upgrades. The fund will invest in companies which have unrealized growth potential that either have technology at the core of their business, or can improve efficiency and profitability by upgrading existing technologies.
- Small and Medium Enterprise Access to Finance Program: USAID will provide $100 million over five years to expand the ability of small and medium sized enterprises to access credit through local commercial banks, with the facilitation of the State Bank of Pakistan. This program will improve the availability of financing for private sector entrepreneurs and create jobs throughout Pakistan, with a focus on less economically advanced regions of the country.
- Trade Mission to Pakistan: The U.S. will organize and sponsor a visit by American business leaders to Pakistan. The Trade Mission will be aimed at facilitating new business ties between American and Pakistani firms with the objective of creating new economic opportunities in both countries.
- Trade Information Gateway Real-Time Exchange for the Port of Karachi: USTDA will establish a study and pilot project to assess the viability and application of Trade Information Gateway Real-Time Exchange (TIGRE) software. This project will track the movement of cargo between ships, port operators, truckers, rail systems, and customers at the Karachi port.
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