ISLAMABAD: US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Thursday met senior Pakistani official Tariq Fatemi to reaffirm Washington’s “shared goal” with Islamabad to expand bilateral economic and commercial ties.
Pakistan’s new foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who assumed office in April in the new cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has stressed he wants to pivot away from a single-issue transactional relationship with the United States that revolved around neighboring Afghanistan and repair frayed ties with Washington.
Sharif took over in April after ex-PM Imran Khan lost a confidence vote moved by a united opposition, that blamed him for mismanaging the economy, governance and foreign relations.
Islamabad’s ties with Washington remained strained during ex-PM Khan’s tenure, who had antagonized the US, welcoming the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year and more recently accusing Washington of being behind the attempt to oust him. Washington has dismissed the accusation.
On Thursday, the US deputy secretary of state met Fatemi, the special assistant to Pakistan’s prime minister on foreign affairs.
“I met with Special Assistant to the PM of Pakistan Amb. Fatemi to reaffirm our shared goals of expanding relations through enhancing economic & commercial ties,” Sherman wrote on Twitter.
In a press release, the US State Department said the two discussed coordination on Afghanistan, regional stability, and the “devastating effects” of Russian President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on food security in Pakistan and worldwide.
