Pakistan

US Under Secretary of State discusses ‘bilateral cooperation’ in his Pakistan visit

Published by

Kashif Zia

2 years ago

ISLAMABAD: United State’s Acting Under Secretary of State, John Bass, met Pakistan’s delegation at the Foreign Office in the federal capital on Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation between Washington and Islamabad.

According to the FO spokesperson, Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, John Bass, held delegation-level talks with Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a statement said that the two sides held wide-ranging discussions on the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including progress on the existing dialogue mechanisms on trade, energy, security, health, climate change, and counter-terrorism.

“The Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch noted the importance attached by Pakistan to its relations with the United States. She underlined the need to upgrade the bilateral mechanisms, especially in the economic and defence fields, and working towards building a broad-based and meaningful bilateral relationship,” the statement read.

Furthermore, US diplomat John Bass thanked the Foreign Secretary for the opportunity to engage substantively on issues of mutual interest Acting Under Secretary expressed the United States’ desire to partner with Pakistan in its efforts to strengthen and stabilize the economy. “He expressed appreciation for the resilience shown by Pakistan in the face of recent challenges like floods and terrorist attacks.”

The visit comes days after the United States sanctioned five entities including four China-based for their involvement in the proliferation of ballistic missile equipment and technology to Pakistan.

According to the statement on Thursday, the US Department of State said, Washington is taking action against five entities and one individual that have been involved in the proliferation of ballistic missiles and controlled missile equipment and technology.

Meanwhile, the Under Secretary Bass also paid a courtesy visit to the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

“They discussed Pakistan-US bilateral relations and ongoing collaboration projects. DPM/FM underlined the importance of positive and productive engagement between Pakistan and the United States,” FO said.

During a weekly press briefing, State Department’s Spokesperson Matthew Miller answering a question stated that acting Under Secretary John Bass, in a talk with Pakistani officials discussed Washington’s approaches to expanding bilateral cooperation on economic and security issues.

Both sides also discussed the way to count terrorism and violent extremism and the importance of fostering regional stability and prosperity.

“The Under Secretary expressed his gratitude for Pakistan’s continued cooperation in assisting Afghans in resettlement pathways to the United States, and we will continue to work closely with the Government of Pakistan on all these issues,” Miller said in a presser.

Kashif Zia