Embassy of Pakistan, Washington DC hosted the first Convention of Pakistani-American Community (CPAC-2014)

The Embassy of Pakistan, Washington DC hosted the first Convention of Pakistani-American Community (CPAC-2014) on Oct 18,2014. Pakistani community leaders, businessmen, professionals, heads of Pakistani community organizations, political activists and academicians from all over the United States participated in the Convention.

The Convention was hosted by Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani to bring together leading community members from across the United States on one platform. It was part of Embassy’s outreach efforts to engage the growing Pakistani American community and discuss issues of mutual interest. The Consuls General of Pakistan in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston were also present in the Convention.

In his address, Ambassador Jilani emphasized that welfare of Pakistani American community was the top priority of the Government of Pakistan and the Embassy and Consulates are dedicated to assisting Pakistanis in every possible way.

Ambassador Jilani urged the community to shun their parochial differences and act as a unified group to effectively leverage their political capital in the U.S. political system. Highlighting the importance of diaspora communities in strengthening bilateral relations, Ambassador Jilani said the community could play a bigger role in countering the negative narrative in Pakistan and the U.S.

The participants of the Convention were given detailed briefings on the economic situation of Pakistan as well as the available trade and investment opportunities.

Representatives of USAID and OPIC also highlighted the economic cooperation between Pakistan and the United States and facilitative role played by U.S. Government to spur private sector investments in Pakistan.

The participants greatly appreciated the initiative of the Embassy in organizing the nation-wide Convention, which provided an effective platform to both the Embassy and the community to deliberate on the issues of mutual concern.

The participants of the Convention expressed deep interest in the briefings arranged by the Embassy.

October 18, 2014
Washington DC