CHICAGO, Aug. 9, 2026: Pakistan is seeking greater investment from U.S. businesses in its mineral resources and surgical manufacturing sectors as Islamabad moves to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties with Washington.
Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, held a series of meetings with business leaders in the Chicago area, highlighting opportunities for U.S. companies to invest in Pakistan and develop stronger business-to-business partnerships.
During a meeting with the Pak American Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Sheikh encouraged American business representatives to explore opportunities for expanding their ventures and investments in Pakistan.
A major focus of the discussions was Pakistan's mineral sector. In a separate meeting, Nadeem Ahmad, President of Miracle Salt Works Collective Inc. (MSCI), briefed the ambassador on the company's ongoing US$200 million joint venture with the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC).
The project aims to crush and package high-quality Pakistani pink rock salt locally for export to international markets.
Sheikh described the initiative as a potential benchmark for value-added foreign investment in Pakistan's mineral sector, which possesses substantial untapped resources.
The ambassador also visited Phoenix Instruments in Naperville, Illinois, a facility involved in the finishing, packaging and distribution of Pakistani-manufactured surgical instruments for the U.S. healthcare market.
Following the visit, Sheikh called for increased U.S. investment in advanced manufacturing technologies, specialised workforce training and skills development to help Pakistan's surgical industry move towards higher-value and technology-intensive production.
He said Pakistan remained committed to building sustainable, investment-led economic partnerships with the United States focused on technology transfer, value addition and mutual commercial growth.
The latest outreach comes as Pakistan seeks to attract foreign investment not merely in the extraction of raw materials but increasingly in processing, manufacturing and value addition — areas that could create new export opportunities and strengthen the country's position in international supply chains.
