ISLAMABAD, Nov 9 (APP): Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad
Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said the Pakistan-US Strategic Dialogue, with
its six Working Groups, covering diverse areas from economy to education, energy to defence and security, has put bilateral relationship on a
sound institutional footing.
He stated this while speaking at the National Day and Election
Day of the United States of America here at US Embassy.
David Hale, US Ambassador to Pakistan, members of the diplomatic
corps/Ministers/Parliamentarians were also present on the occasion.
Ishaq Dar said that he was pleased to represent the Prime Minister
and the people of Pakistan here on this historic day when the American friends were celebrating the National Day and the Election Day at
the same time.
“Being a thriving democracy ourselves, we can identify and
associate with the feelings and passions of our American friends
on the occasion of this Presidential election and being a member
of a democratically-elected parliament myself, I can understand
the excitement of this moment perfectly well”, he remarked.
Pakistan and the United States, he said are old friends.
Their relationship, he said was spanning over generations
and based in the common ideals of freedom, liberty, democracy,
individual rights and the belief in the power of the people.
“Those are ideals that guided and inspired the founding
fathers of the U.S. and those of Pakistan as well”, he said.
The Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, he said since
after assuming the reins of the Government in 2013, had
endeavoured to make the Pak-U.S. relationship as a broad-based, multi-dimensional and mutually beneficial partnership.
“Happily, he found a willing friend and partner in
President Barack Obama. Thanks to their leadership and vision,
we have been able to place our relations on a stable and upward
trajectory over the past years”, he added.
Ishaq Dar said that the Pakistan-US Strategic Dialogue,
with its six Working Groups covering diverse areas from economy
to education, energy to defence and security, has put the
bilateral relationship on a sound institutional footing.
“The dialogue mechanism provides an excellent platform for
both sides to jointly monitor the progress achieved so far as well
as to identify new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation”, he
added.
“Apart from that regular high level exchanges, including
military delegations, have greatly helped us better understand
each other’s perspective on issues of mutual interest and
concern,” Dar said.
“These engagements, characterized the resilience and strength
of our close relationship and enable us to develop a comprehensive
and balanced perspective on our meaningful cooperation with each
other and the current challenges and opportunities”, he said.
The U.S., he said is a key economic and development partner
of Pakistan.
“We deeply appreciate the development cooperation our two
countries have had over the years. Importantly, U.S. is Pakistan’s
second largest trading partner and the biggest market for Pakistani
exports. We are very keen to further expand our trade and economic
ties to the mutual benefit of our people”, he said.
The Finance Minister said “We firmly believe that given
the imperatives of peace, stability and security in the region,
continued close cooperation between Pakistan and the US, is
important to successfully fight terrorism and to attain the
shared objectives of regional peace, security and prosperity”.