Bilawal, Blinken meeting on the cards

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is expected to travel to the United States this month to attend the Food Security Conference as well as hold a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

A Foreign Office official told The Express Tribune on Tuesday that the visit of the newly appointed foreign minister is under active consideration and that he would visit the United States.

Secretary Blinken invited Bilawal to attend a ministerial meeting on food security scheduled for May 19 in New York. He also extended an invitation to the foreign minister for the US Global Covid summit the US is set to host on May 12.

The official while speaking on condition of anonymity said the foreign minister is expected to address the global Covid summit virtually and attend the separate ministerial meeting on food security in New York.

The likely visit to the US will be followed closely against the backdrop of the change of government in Pakistan. The meeting between Secretary Blinken and Bilawal will also be significant given that the ousted premier Imran Khan accused the Biden administration for being behind the no-trust move.

The controversy has cast a negative shadow on the already fragile relationship between Pakistan and the US.

But the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is seeking a reset in ties as it considers relationship with Washington vital for Pakistan’s interests.

Since the new government took charge there have been several statements made by officials both in Islamabad and Washington expressing willingness to strengthen cooperation.

Secretary Blinken recently spoke to Bilawal over the phone for nearly an hour and expressed the desire for deepening cooperation with Pakistan. FM Bilawal too sought to improve ties with Washington based on equality and mutual respect.

Sources said diplomatic efforts were being made to arrange a bilateral meeting between Secretary Blinken and Bilawal ON the sidelines of the food security ministerial meeting.

This would be the first high-level contact between the two countries since September last year when Secretary Blinken and then foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi held a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York.

Sources believe that if the meeting between Blinken and Bilawal goes well there is a possibility of contacts at the leadership level.

President Joe Biden never spoke to former premier Imran despite Pakistan’s critical role in ensuring the safe exit of US forces from Afghanistan in August last year.

The absence of a telephone call is believed to have irked Imran, who thought Pakistan’s positive role in Afghanistan endgame had never been duly acknowledged.

The PTI chairman is holding massive public rallies and continuing to lash out at the US for being behind his ouster.