ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on phone on Wednesday, and reaffirmed their mutual desire to further strengthen Pakistan-US bilateral ties by expanding their engagement in trade, energy, health and security.
Talking to the US secretary of state, Bilawal Bhutto thanked Secretary Blinken for extending him the invitation to attend the ‘Global Food Security Call to Action’ held in New York in May 2022 and recalled that, on its sidelines, they had a detailed and productive bilateral meeting.
The foreign minister underscored that Pakistan had a long-standing and broad-based relationship with the United States which needed to be reinforced and widened on the basis of mutual respect and mutual trust.
Spoke to @SecBlinken, today. We reaffirmed our mutual desire to further strengthen bilateral ties by expanding our engagement in trade, energy, health & security marking 75 years of our relationship. We must increase people-to-people & business-to-business contacts. 🇵🇰 🤝 🇺🇸
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) July 6, 2022
The foreign minister underlined the need for frequent exchange of high-level visits between the two countries to realize the full potential of bilateral cooperation across a vast range of areas and highlighted that both Countries were celebrating the 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties in a befitting manner.
Bilawal Bhutto particularly stressed that, given the demographic and economic potential of Pakistan, the US may invest in Pakistan’s growing market.
The foreign minister also hoped that the Trade and Investment Framework’s Ministerial Meeting could be held later this year to give further impetus to trade ties along with holding of Business Opportunities’ Conference.
The foreign minister also appreciated the ongoing visit of the Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Dilawar Syed to explore and further solidify Pakistan-US commercial and trade ties.
Bilawal underscored to Antony Blinken the importance of easing the issuance of visas for Pakistani nationals including students, businesspersons and professionals.
The two counterparts agreed to increase cooperation and continue momentum on the ongoing dialogues on Climate Change, Energy, Health, Security, and Trade and Investment.
They also agreed to maintain sustained engagement in future.
The Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also underlined that the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, accentuated by the recent earthquake, required scaling up of the international community’s assistance to Afghanistan.
The foreign minister reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to remain engaged for the promotion of shared objectives of peace and stability in Afghanistan.
