US Consul General, William K Makaneole, paid a farewell call on Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman at Governor’s House. Issues of mutual interest and bilateral cooperation in various fields, including education and trade were discussed in the meeting. Governor appreciated the diplomatic efforts of outgoing US Consul General in improving Pakistan-US relations. He also lauded William K Makaneole’s active role in the agreement of declaring State of California and Punjab sister states.
Talking on this occasion, Balighur Rehman said that Pakistan’s relations with the United States constitute an important element of its foreign policy. He said that US cooperation with Pakistan in various fields, especially in the field of education and health, was commendable.
He said that bilateral trade between the two countries needed to be expanded. He said that US remained Pakistan’s largest export market, adding that we need to diversify our trade and investment relationship.
He said that people to people contact was very important, there should be more exchange of students and teachers between Pakistan and United States. Governor said that US was giving Fulbright scholarship and other scholarships to Pakistani students.
He expressed hope that America would increase the number of scholarships for Pakistani students. Governor said that environmental changes were also having a major impact on Pakistan’s agriculture. He said that as chancellor, he has formed a consortium on environment. The government has taken various steps, including establishment of women’s universities to empower women and bring them into the stream of development.
He said that the representation of women in various fields is increasing in Pakistan. In a statement, he termed the violent incidents in Jaranwala sad and said that one mistake cannot be corrected by another mistake. He said that no one can be allowed to take the law into one’s hands.
