The United States on Thursday hailed Pakistan's decision to grant most favoured nation status to India, calling it an example of co-operation throughout the wider South Asia Central Asia region that would help break down barriers and benefit all.
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland lauded the step as a "concrete" and "most tangible" taken yet toward normalisation of ties between the two major South Asian countries. "What we are very pleased to see happen is a decision unanimously approved by the Pakistani cabinet to open a path to full normalisation of trade relations with India," Nuland said during the daily briefing.
The "important" decision by the federal cabinet on Wednesday in Islamabad, she hoped, will lead to a realisation of the most favoured nation status for India as the two countries make progress in the months ahead. "This is a very very big deal, very important, could lead to really great economic opportunities for both India and Pakistan.
It sets the kind of example within the Silk Road family that we would like to see throughout that region, we would like to see the opening of trade relations because this will bring prosperity to everybody, break down old barriers, really lift all those in the region and make the region even more vital as a centre of commerce," Nuland remarked. Nuland noted that the meetings in Istanbul on Afghanistan together with Islamabad's decision on MFN status will help improve the environment for co-operation within the SAARC region.