'Shared issues' Pakistan-US relations get a big boost
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and US on Thursday agreed to work together on 'shared issues'. The two countries also agreed to continue strategic dialogue process to sort out all issues and better understand each other's perspectives.
This understanding was reached during a meeting between Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman here at the Foreign Office.
Grossman arrived in Islamabad on Thursday morning on a one-day visit as part of his scheduled trip to Central Asian States, Afghanistan, China and India to discuss the upcoming peace conferences of Istanbul and Bonn with regional leaders.
The US special envoy also held separate meetings with senior Pakistani officials including President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
"We agreed that we can continue, in a systematic way, to find shared issues that we share with Pakistan - and there are many - and act jointly on them," Grossman said while addressing a joint stakeout with Hina Rabbani Khar after the meeting, in which the two sides discussed mutual ties, regional and international issues with particular reference to Afghanistan and the forthcoming conferences at Istanbul on November 2 and Bonn on December 5.
Khar said she held 'constructive' meeting with the US special envoy, adding that Pakistan-US relations were important not only for mutual but also for regional as well as world peace and security.
"Pakistan being the frontline state in the war against terrorism is an important stakeholder and its cooperation is imperative for peace and security in the region," she said, adding that dialogue between the two countries would help understand each other's point of view and find common ground for cooperation.
"Our effort is to build Pakistan-US relations and move forward in a constructive manner," she said, adding that both the countries were engaged with each other bilaterally to strengthen the dialogue process for peace and security in the region and at global level.
The FM further said that they also discussed the upcoming Istanbul conference on Afghanistan, adding that Islamabad assured of its full participation in the moot to make it successful.
The US special representative reaffirmed the US commitment to a long-term, enduring partnership with Pakistan and its people, adding that relationship between the United States and Pakistan was important for both the countries.
He said efforts were being made to identify the interests of the two countries in the relationship and expressed the hope that both the countries will work together and coordinate with each other through strategic dialogue process.
He said technical working groups, formed by the two countries which had been meeting in the past, would also hold meetings in future to further enhance cooperation in these fields.
The US special envoy said that he had also discussed with the foreign minister, the peace conferences so that Pakistan should be included in the peace process, being an important country to play its due role for the peace and security in the region. He said a stable and secure Afghanistan was in the interest of the whole region and the world.