File photo of a meeting between Blinken and Bhutto-Zardari in New York
The U.S. and Pakistan on Wednesday reiterated their aim to expand bilateral ties with a focus on economic stability in a phone call between the foreign ministers of both countries.
“Spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari today on expanding the U.S.-Pakistan partnership on economic stability and our joint efforts to support the Afghan people,” Blinken posted on Twitter after the call. “We look forward to commemorating the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic relations,” he added.
Similarly, Bhutto-Zardari said that they had “reaffirmed our mutual desire to further strengthen bilateral ties by expanding our engagement in trade, energy, health and security, marking 75 years of our relationship.” He stressed on the need to increase people-to-people and business-to-business contacts.
In a statement the Foreign Office said that Bhutto-Zardari had thanked Blinken for inviting him to a global food security summit in New York earlier this year and stressed that their countries had a long-standing and broad-based relationship that needed to be reinforced and widened on the basis of mutual respect and trust.
“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,” it cited the foreign minister as saying, adding that “given the demographic and economic potential of Pakistan,” the U.S. should consider investing in its 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,” it said, adding that he had also appreciated the ongoing visit of Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Dilawar Syed to explore and further solidify Pak-U.S. commercial and trade ties.
Underscoring the importance of easing the issuance of visas for Pakistani nationals including students, businesspersons and professionals, Bhutto-Zardari also underlined the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, stressing upon the need to scale up of the international community’s assistance to the war-torn nation. “The foreign minister reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to remain engaged for the promotion of shared objectives of peace and stability in Afghanistan,” the statement added.
The Foreign Office the two counterparts had agreed to increase cooperation and continue momentum on the ongoing dialogues on climate change, energy, health, security, and trade and investment and to maintain sustained engagement in future.