Kerry says he looks forward to close US-Pakistan ties

WASHINGTON: In a telephone conversation with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday night, new US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said that he stands for a "strong" Washington-Islamabad relationship, according to the State Department.

"As you may know, Secretary Kerry has a longstanding relationship with many Pakistani leaders, and he used the opportunity of the phone call to underscore the continuing importance of an effective, strong, and mutually beneficial US-Pakistani relationship," Spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters at the daily press briefing.

"He (Kerry) emphasized that Pakistan and the United States have many shared interests, including fighting terrorism and extremism, supporting democratic civilian institutions, and supporting Pakistan's efforts to increase economic growth, and obviously "our shared interest in regional stability, including a secure and peaceful future for Afghanistan," she said.

"And he noted our ongoing interest in finding a concrete way to act jointly in support of all of these goals, and he made clear that he looks forward to working with President Zardari going forward", she said.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2013