Pakistan, United States agree to strengthen bilateral relations

Islamabad: Pakistan and United States Thursday agreed to strengthen bilateral relations in diverse fields.

The agreement was reached at a meeting between Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and US Department of State’s Counselor Derek Chollet here.

Talking to state media after the meeting the Foreign Minister said Pakistan-US relations are heading in the positive direction.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed his gratitude to the US for extending the support and solidarity with Pakistan in this difficult time.

He expressed confidence that the two countries will also work together on the broader agenda of climate change and the rebuilding infrastructure in a way that withstands these climate shocks.

Speaking on the occasion, Derek Chollet said the US fully recognizes that devastation caused by flood will be a long term challenge for Pakistan. He said the US is also Pakistan’s long term partner and will help it recover from the floods and announce more assistance in addition to 30 million dollars already announced.

He said his country is also looking forward to working with Pakistan to build a strong relationship.

The Foreign Minister while thanking the Counselor for his visit at this difficult hour, appreciated the strong expression of support and solidarity by the U.S. government.

He sensitized them that almost a third of Pakistan’s territory was under water. Over 1,300 had lost their lives; more than 33 million were affected; critical infrastructure had been destroyed; over 4 million acres of crops had been washed away; and close to a million livestock had already perished.

The Foreign Minister said that, at present, the government was fully engaged in the immediate rescue and relief efforts to save lives. At the same time, the long-term impacts on food security, health, and the economy were a matter of serious concern. Rehabilitation of the millions impacted, reconstruction, rebuilding communities and addressing the economic repercussions would require enormous resources.

The Foreign Minister added that it was unfortunate that although Pakistan contributed less than 1% of greenhouse gas emissions, it suffered the severity of climate change. He thanked the U.S. government for US $31.1 million in relief assistance. He also underscored the need for the international community to step up their ambition in climate financing towards mitigation, adaptation, and resilience especially towards the developing countries.

The Foreign Minister maintained that in recent months there has been a steady momentum of engagement between Pakistan and the United States. Pakistan was committed to deepen and broaden its long-standing relationship with the U.S. based on mutual trust and mutual respect. The Foreign Minister emphasized the importance of sustained cooperation in areas of climate change, energy, health, trade and investment, education, and people-to-people links.

Counselor Chollet underlined that the U.S. wascommitted to supporting Pakistan in its efforts to deal with the devastation caused by the floods. He agreed with the Foreign Minister to reinforce ongoing engagement in various sectors and to explore more areas of cooperation to widen and strengthen this relationship.

Counselor Chollet is leading an inter-agency delegation to Pakistan from September 7-9, to reaffirm U.S. support to Pakistan in the wake of catastrophic flooding and reinforce the broad-based and enduring Pakistan-U.S. relationship.