About the remarks made by Nicholas Burns, U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs, the ambassador said the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) is being negotiated, "and, it's in the final stages." At the Heritage Foundation, Burns said the United States is very satisfied with the presidential visit to Pakistan, which he termed substantive and successful. He said the signing of BIT is to follow soon, which, he added "will lead to investment and job growth." "If you read the Fact Sheet, issued at the conclusion of President Bush's visit to Islamabad, there is something there about Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs), which are important." The diplomat said "those are going to definitely help in the overall trade and investment scenario, and the Bilateral Investment Treaty," and hoped that "we will overcome one or two points which are being discussed - and, that it will be concluded soon." Entering into BIT, he said would "definitely open the way for foreign direct investment into Pakistan from the United States," and expressed the hope that it would also be the first step towards Free Trade Agreement in future. "By now, we should be clear that relationship that United States has with India is a different relationship - it's a relationship which started some years ago, and in July last year when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in Washington, they concluded a number of agreements and initiatives." In this visit, Karamat said "there has been nothing new- it is the same agreements and those same initiatives which have been revived moved towards implementation. So, there is nothing new there. On our side, everything that has been concluded between the two countries is new - and, it's the initiation of so many ventures and initiatives. So, we should look very positively at the future of this relationship." --SPA 13 29 Local Time 10 29 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/337570