Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Saturday his country gives high priority to its trade and commercial relations with the United States and the finalization of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) will strengthen these ties,

The prime minister made the remarks when meeting U.S. Under Secretary for International Trade Frank Lavin, according to an official statement.

Aziz said the BIT, which would also open doors for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) needed to be finalized soon.

He said that finalization of the BIT, by providing institutional framework for comprehensive economic partnership, would enhance the volume of trade between the two countries, and as a result more employment opportunities and business activities would be generated in the country.

Aziz expressed appreciation for the plans to set up Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs), saying that ROZs would continue to help the overall economic uplift of commercially depressed zones and less developed areas as the infrastructure of the area would be strengthen and the population of the area would get more jobs and better facilities of life.

Lavin said the structural reforms implemented by the Pakistani government had put the country's economy on the path of sustainable development.

He said the reforms were essential for Pakistan to meet the challenges of globalization.

He said BIT would be finalized based on the mutually agreed criteria.

Lavin said that finalization of ROZs and BIT were among the important steps being taken as a follow up of the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Pakistan and would contribute to further deepening of trade and commercial relations between the two countries.

Source: Xinhua