Over the past seven decades we have built a strong relationship between Pakistan and the United States,” said Masood Khan while delving on the history of Pak-U.S. relations, during his talk on Pakistan-US partnership for Regional Peace and Stability organized by the South Asian Study Council at Yale University. “Both countries had cooperation in areas of security, economy and people-to-people exchanges from the early stages that laid the foundations for a strong partnership,” he added.
He elaborated that both countries partnered during the cold war and on war against terrorism. While the strategic aspect of the relations still remained important, he noted, both countries were now moving towards a diverse, broad-based partnerships, with a focus on trade and investment, education, climate change, IT and agriculture sectors. He explained that after U.S. troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, there had been some uncertainty regarding the mutual relevance of the relationship. However, the recent engagements have transformed Pak-US ties and new pathways for cooperation, particularly in the economic realm. He said that the bilateral trade between the two countries had been growing fast and the United States continues to be the largest export market for Pakistan. —PR
