Robust trade ties important to bolster Pak economic stability: US

The US State Department has said that a robust trade relationship between the US and Pakistan is more important than ever to bolster the latter’s economic stability as it recovers from last year's devastating floods.

US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price made these remarks in response to a question at the weekly press briefing.

He said that the Pakistan-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council “exemplifies our commitment to deepening our economic and commercial ties with Pakistan”.

“We believe that a robust trade relationship between the United States and Pakistan is more important than ever to bolster Pakistan’s economic stability as it recovers from devastating floods, while at the same time also providing an opportunity to Americans and to American businesses in this country, exposing them to new markets – Pakistani markets in this case,” added Price.

The spokesperson furthered that the US’ trade relationship with Pakistan has helped both Pakistani industries and consumers, adding that “there is great potential to expand bilateral trade with Pakistan further, particularly in energy, agricultural equipment and products, franchising, retail trade, information and communications technology products and services”.

Price also stated that the US has been a leading investor in Pakistan for the past two decades and that investments have increased by some 50 per cent.

“US investment in Pakistan is the highest it’s been in over a decade, and US corporations have announced more than $1.5 billion in investment plans in Pakistan since 2019. US companies and their local affiliates, moreover, are among Pakistan’s largest employers, with roughly 80 US companies directly employing more than 120,000 Pakistanis,” he added.

The comments by Price come at a time when Pakistan's commerce minister is in Washington where he co-chaired a meeting of the Pakistan-US TIFA Council looking for breakthroughs in agriculture and information technology.

On Wednesday, Qamar had said that the meeting would strengthen ties between the two countries that had been strained in recent years by political tensions and could help boost bilateral trade in goods and services, which the Pakistani embassy said now totalled about $12 billion.

“Shared interests”

While responding to a question on the rise in terror incidents in the country, Price said the “US and Pakistan have a shared interest in ensuring the Taliban live up to the commitments that they have made, and that terrorist groups that may be active in Afghanistan are no longer able to threaten regional stability”.

A day earlier, Pakistan had presented “irrefutable evidence” to the Afghan Taliban about the presence of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts and the precise location of its leadership in Afghanistan.

The evidence was shared during a visit of a high-powered delegation led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to Kabul.

There was a shift in Pakistan’s stance on the TTP after the recent spike in terrorist attacks with the country’s civil and military leadership no longer seeking talks with the terrorist outfit.