WASHINGTON: The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will pay his maiden visit to Pakistan in October 2017 during which he would discuss joint efforts against terrorism and expanding economic ties between the two Countries, a State Department Spokesperson said.
“The Secretary will meet with senior Pakistani leaders to discuss our continued bilateral cooperation, Pakistan’s critical role in the success of our South Asia strategy, and the expanding economic ties between our two Countries,” the Spokesperson Heather Nauert told a briefing at the State Department in Washington on Thursday.
The visit to Pakistan is part of Secretary Tillerson’s first visit to Asia which will also take him to India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Geneva from October 20-27.
The Spokesperson said that the Secretary was due to meet with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, foreign minister, and senior military officials to discuss joint efforts between Pakistan and the United States to fight terrorist groups that threaten regional peace and stability and how “Pakistan can support our effort to reach a peaceful solution in Afghanistan”.
Rex Tillerson’s visit to Islamabad follows the visit by Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif to Washington earlier this month during which he met high US officials to discuss the US-Pakistan relations and the new South Asia strategy announced by US President Donald Trump in August.
In his meetings with the US officials, the foreign minister briefed them about Pakistan’s perspective on the US strategy and stressed the importance that Pakistan attaches to peace in Afghanistan. He also emphasized during his meetings the need the working together for regional peace and stability.
Responding to a question about the US-India ties and whether Washington would take side in issues between Pakistan and India like the cross border firing across the Line of Control (LoC), the Spokesperson said that the US had always been very cautious about addressing those issues, “not wanting to contribute to any additional tensions”.
