——- Asserts Pakistan, US enjoy longstanding, broad-based rela-tions
——- US envoy reiterates support for free, fair polls in meeting with Interim PM
——- Encourages protection of religious minorities
——- Asserts US backs timely election in Pakistan
By Ali Asghar Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Friday reaffirmed the government’s desire to further strength-ening bilateral cooperation with the United States in the key areas including trade and investment, energy, security, and climate change.
He was talking to the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome who called on him here.
Ambassador Blome congratulated the prime minister on assuming office and reaffirmed the United States’ desire for supporting Pa-kistan’s economic and development agenda.
The prime minister said that Pakistan and the US enjoyed longstanding and broad-based relations, rooted in mutual respect, common interests and shared values.
The prime minister emphasized that the caretaker Government’s main responsibility is to assist the Election Commission of Paki-stan in the electoral process and provide constitutional continuity during the period of democratic transition.
He expressed satisfaction over the current positive trajectory of bi-lateral ties and appreciated the United States’ role in helping Paki-stan to stabilize its economy and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commit-ment to continue the reform agenda for achieving sustainable growth.
Noting the role that the U.S. private sector has traditionally played in supporting Pakistan’s economic growth, he hoped that that more U.S. companies would explore the investment opportunities, particularly to tap the vast potential for investment in Pakistan’s information technology sector.
Lauding the important contributions of the Pakistani-American community towards strengthening ties between the two countries, the prime minister called for increasing people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
