Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that Pakistan and the United States have yet to settle some issues but expressed the hope that the trade talks would move forward in a constructive way.
Speaking after holding delegation-level talks with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer in Washington, Aurangzeb said both sides held in-depth talks on trade ties covering the negotiations process going on for some months in this regard.
“Both sides are yet to thrash out some trade issues,” the minister said, expressing the hope that the trade talks would move forward in a constructive and in a way which would benefit both countries.
Aurangzeb said that leadership of both the countries would soon announce a trade deal.
The minister underscored Pakistan’s interest in expanding cooperation in both traditional and non-traditional sectors with United States including IT and tech sector, minerals, and agriculture, to foster a mutually beneficial relationship.
He highlighted that the United States remains Pakistan’s largest trading partner.
During the talks, both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in enhancing trade and economic ties, a cornerstone of Pakistan-US bilateral relations. They reaffirmed their commitment to exploring opportunities to strengthen these ties in all possible areas of mutual benefit. Both parties also expressed optimism that ongoing trade talks would yield positive outcomes, benefiting the economies of both countries. According to a statement issued in Islamabad by the Finance Ministry on Friday, Pakistan and the United States explored ways to broaden their trade partnership beyond textiles.
The meeting between Aurangzeb, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer followed a virtual discussion between Aurangzeb and Lutnick last month, during which both sides agreed to push negotiations forward “at the earliest.” “Finance Minister Aurangzeb emphasized that the US remains Pakistan’s largest trading partner and underscored Pakistan’s interest in expanding cooperation in both traditional and non-traditional sectors, including the IT & tech sector, minerals and agriculture, to foster a mutually beneficial relationship,” Pakistan’s finance ministry said in the statement.—NNI
