“Perhaps it's a little insensitive to talk about this now, but I do want to mention that I think this will provide opportunities for American business as we try to build back better,” Ambassador Anne Patterson told companies.
Patterson, speaking on a conference call arranged by the US Chamber of Commerce, said the extent of the damage was still unclear but that Pakistan would have major needs, including reviving its battered agriculture sector.
Pakistan's worst humanitarian catastrophe has affected more than 17 million people.
Even before the flooding, Pakistan was in an economic bind and needed a bailout from the International Monetary Fund whose conditions it is now seeking to renegotiate.
Pakistan has been struggling to attract foreign investment in part due to worries about security in the country at the frontline of the international campaign against extremism.
The United States last year authorized a 7.5 billion-dollar aid package for Pakistan and has also contributed more than 150 million dollars for flood relief.
Despite some criticism at home, the United States has prioritized working with local groups and firms instead of US ones in a bid to build capacity in Pakistan. -AFP
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