Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan says Pakistan and the United States will continue to work together to achieve the shared goals of peace and stability in the region.

Speaking at the International Conference on Diplomacy for Development Organized by International Academy of Letters in Houston, he said the two countries have agreed to make joint efforts to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism, which is a bane for any society or vicinity. In this context, it is important to start US counterterrorism programs for Pakistan’s capacity enhancement.

About Afghanistan, the Ambassador said that stabilization of Afghanistan is important for Pakistan and the United States, adding that the Afghan Interim Government has been asked to restore women’s rights to education and employment.

The Ambassador also expressed gratitude to the United States for supporting the approval of Pakistan’s $ 3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF. He also expressed gratitude to Pakistani-American leaders for reaching out to US Senators and Congressmen to add their voices to the calls for early approval of IMF’s Pakistan package.

Talking about Pakistan-United States relationship, Masood Khan said that Pakistan and the United States have a rich legacy of a cooperative relationship that provides a basis for building our ties in the emerging global and regional geo-political milieu. He  said the countries need to liberalize visa regimes for enhancing people-to-people contacts and exchange of students, academics, business leaders and professionals.

The Ambassador said Pakistan’s priorities are to improve ease of doing business, streamline regulations, ensure timely repatriation of profits, make trade dispute settlement efficient, and protect and enforce intellectual property. This is work in progress. 

He said Pakistani government is working with the United States to ensure vigorous growth of security and economic relations. He also welcomed the US enhanced participation in Pakistan’s infrastructure development, energy projects, agriculture, industry and supply chains.

About Pakistan-US economic cooperation, the Ambassador said that the United States continues to remain the single largest export market for Pakistan. Despite the slow GDP growth this past year, Pakistan-US trade does not seem to have been affected significantly. Last fiscal year’s full figures are not in yet, but from July 2022 to May 2023, our total exports to the US are $ 7.5 billion, with $ 5.5 billion for commodities and $ 2 billion for services, including IT.

About bilateral cooperation in climate change, he said Pakistan and the United States have held intensive dialogues and took decisions on stepping up cooperation in climate change, energy, health, trade and investment in the past six months.  He said the two sides are working on mitigation and adaptation, energy transition, water management, clean air, climate smart agriculture, biodiversity and waste management, including of plastics. Under the banner of Green Alliance, he said, the two countries are partnering to modernize Pakistan’s agriculture, develop high yield, climate-resilient seeds and improve fertilizer efficiency.  He appreciated the US support to Pakistan to restore the ecological health of the Indus River Basin and its offer to share weather data on glacial melt.   

Talking about Pak-US energy cooperation, he said Washington has contributed substantially to Pakistan’s energy grid by investing in Mangla, Tarbela and Gomal Zam dams. Electrical vehicles are gaining market share in Pakistan and we are committed to increasing renewables in our energy mix to 60 percent by 2030. The time is ripe for the US industry’s support for green public transport infrastructure in Pakistan. 

Shedding light on Pak-China relations, Masood Khan said that Pakistan has pursued connectivity through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to leverage its economic geography. He further said Pakistan’s defense and economic ties with China will continue to flourish in the future.

In her remarks, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst said her country supports democratic principles, freedom of expression, and rule of law equally and around the world, including Pakistan.  She said the United Sates does will not allow propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation to create hurdles in the way of any bilateral relationship, including valued partnership with Pakistan.

She made it clear that the United States does not have a position on one political candidate or party versus another.  

Elizabeth Horst also rejected allegations against Assistant Secretary Don Lu as categorically false, adding that we have communicated this publicly and privately. She said the United States is wiling to work with any government chosen by the people of Pakistan.