‘Upward trajectory’: Aziz upbeat over ties with Washington

Calls for greater trade access for Pakistani products.

WASHINGTON:

National Security and Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said on Tuesday that his country’s relationship with the United States is on “an upward trajectory” and bilateral cooperation in wide-ranging economic and security areas is also moving well.

Aziz’s remarks came during a Washington based think tank.

Aziz, who led Pakistan at the strategic dialogue with US Secretary of State John Kerry this week, also touched on some of the mutual concerns the two sides have had in recent years and said building trust could greatly spur the bilateral relationship.

In a speech at the Atlantic Council, Aziz noted that Washington is being appreciative of Pakistan’s views on some key regional issues. “On the whole, the relationship is on an upward trajectory,” he remarked to a gathering that included American experts, journalists and writers.

He highlighted that five working groups under the strategic dialogue have held their meetings and that cooperation in the fields of energy, defence, counterterrorism, law enforcement is ‘moving very well’.

However, Aziz called for greater trade access for Pakistani products and a robust inflow of American investment into prospective areas of the country’s economy. He said an investment conference being held in Islamabad will give the signal to American investors for opportunities they can utilise in the country.

“The purpose of the dialogue is to convert the transactional relationship into a strategic relationship.” In this respect, he also enumerated some important ingredients that from Islamabad’s perspective make a relationship truly strategic including mutual trust between countries and institutions, which, he said, could avert happenings that strain relationship and sustain ties. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2014.