Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said Pakistan is ready to engage with the new administration of the United States, considering it an ‘opportunity to build a long-term, broad-based and multidimensional relationship’.
“Such partnership would require an institutionalized and structured engagement, based on mutual respect and cooperation,” the foreign minister said at a webinar on Pakistan’s priorities with the upcoming 46th US administration, organised by the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations. He expressed confidence that president-elect Joe Biden as an ‘old friend to Pakistan’ would work towards strengthening ties between the two countries.
He said already exchange of messages had taken place between Prime Minister Imran Khan and US president-elect, who expressed interest of working with Pakistan on issues of common interests. “Our historic ties can reset as Pakistan and US must share an understanding to deal with challenges of present for a better tomorrow,” he said.
Qureshi said the two countries needed to work in confronting challenges in the wake of pandemic, global economic slowdown, climate change and erosion of multilateralism. He said the US must continue to count on Pakistan as a partner for peace in Afghanistan where other actors did not share the same vision and played role of ‘spoilers’. “Both our sides must remain cognizant that achieving an inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan would only be the first step towards peace,” he said.
The foreign minister said Pakistan and US need to work together to facilitate Afghanistan’s transition from a war economy to a peace economy, adding that complete support and engagement of international community would be a vital or sustainable for peace and development of Afghanistan.
