ISLAMABAD: Washington will continue to support Islamabad’s efforts for economic development and reform, US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome said on Thursday after his meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The US and Pakistan remained close allies during the Cold War, though their relationship mostly centered on their defense and security requirements.
However, their officials developed profound differences during the recent war in Afghanistan, making US authorities believe they were not getting the requisite support from Pakistan to deal with Taliban insurgents.
The relations between the two states hit a new low last year after the downfall of the administration of former prime minister Imran Khan who blamed his ouster on an “international conspiracy” hatched in Washington despite repeated denials by US officials.
Blome met Sharif to discuss Pakistan’s relief and reconstruction efforts following devastating floods that killed over 1,700 across the country and as per estimates, inflicted damages of over $30 billion. Islamabad has repeatedly urged the world to aid its efforts to rehabilitate flood affectees.
“Ambassador Blome said that the United States would continue to support Pakistan’s post-flood recovery as well as the Government’s efforts for economic development and reform,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
The PMO said Sharif acknowledged Washington’s support for Pakistan’s post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. Pakistan’s prime minister expressed his country’s resolve to deepen economic and trade engagement with the US, it added.
“Noting the recent momentum in high-level bilateral exchanges, the Prime Minister stressed that structured and broad-based Pakistan-US engagement was critical to advancing both countries’ shared goals in both the bilateral and regional domains,” the PMO stated.
In a statement earlier today, Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign office mentioned a new process of “reengagement” with the United States, saying the two countries were collaborating with each other in a number of areas.
“We are undertaking discussions on different issues including agriculture, climate change, investment, energy and other sectors and we also continue to discuss all issues of concern to both sides,” the foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan news agency.
She was asked about a recent US statement that Pakistan could benefit from discounted Russian oil despite restrictions. Baloch added her country appreciated its close relations with the US and was in a process of “reengagement” with Washington.
Pakistan has been looking for external financing from friendly nations and international lending agencies amid a mounting current account deficit and depleting forex reserves, and its officials are widely believed to have asked for US assistance for the resumption of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package.
The IMF program requires Pakistan to implement strict economic reforms.
