ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States on Thursday agreed to reinforce ongoing engagement in various sectors by exploring more areas of cooperation to widen and strengthen their bilateral relationship.
This was agreed in a meeting of the visiting Counselor Derek Chollet of the US Department of State along with his delegation with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
According to Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar, the foreign minister while speaking to the visiting US Department of State Counselor Chollet, maintained that in recent months there has been a steady momentum of engagement between Pakistan and the United States.
“Pakistan was committed to deepen and broaden its long-standing relationship with the US based on mutual trust and mutual respect,” the foreign minister said. He also emphasised the importance of sustained cooperation in areas of climate change, energy, health, trade and investment, education, and people-to-people links.
“Counselor Chollet underlined that the US was committed to supporting Pakistan in its efforts to deal with the devastation caused by the floods. He agreed with the Foreign Minister to reinforce ongoing engagement in various sectors and to explore more areas of cooperation to widen and strengthen this relationship,” according to a statement of the Foreign Office spokesperson.
Counsellor Chollet also offered heartfelt condolences to the people of Pakistan over the loss of life and devastation caused by the super floods in Pakistan.
The foreign minister, while thanking the Counsellor for his visit at this difficult hour, appreciated the strong expression of support and solidarity by the US government.
He sensitized them that almost a third of Pakistan’s territory was under water. Over 1,300 had lost their lives; more than 33 million were affected; critical infrastructure had been destroyed; over four million acres of crops had been washed away; and close to a million livestock had already perished, the foreign minister stated.
The foreign minister said that, at present, the government was fully engaged in the immediate rescue and relief efforts to save lives. At the same time, the long-term impacts on food security, health, and the economy were a matter of serious concern. Rehabilitation of the millions impacted, reconstruction, rebuilding communities and addressing the economic repercussions would require enormous resources, he stated.
The foreign minister added that it was unfortunate that although Pakistan contributed less than one percent of greenhouse gas emissions, it suffered the severity of climate change.
He thanked the US government for the US $31.1 million in relief assistance. He also underscored the need for the international community to step up their ambition in climate financing towards mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, especially towards developing countries.
Counsellor Chollet is leading an inter-agency delegation to Pakistan from September 7-9, to reaffirm US support to Pakistan in the wake of catastrophic flooding and reinforce the broad-based and enduring Pakistan-US relationship.
Talking to state media after the meeting, the foreign minister said Pakistan-US relations are heading in a positive direction and also expressed gratitude to the US for extending support and solidarity with Pakistan in this difficult time.
He expressed confidence that the two countries will also work together on the broader agenda of climate change and rebuilding infrastructure in a way that withstands these climate shocks.
Speaking on the occasion, Counsellor Chollet said the US fully recognises that devastation caused by floods will be a long-term challenge for Pakistan.
He said the US is also Pakistan’s long-term partner and will help it recover from the floods and announce more assistance in addition to the$30 million already announced.
He said that the US is also looking forward to working with Pakistan to build a strong relationship.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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