Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke on Monday with the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, in the first telephone call of the couple, where the main diplomat of the United States expressed interest in deepening cooperation in a variety of sectors, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO) said in a statement.
According to the statement, Dar made the call, the first among the couple, and discussed bilateral relations, regional security and economic cooperation with their US counterpart.
“During the call, DPM (VicePrimer Minister)/FM Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthen his association with the United States,” said the statement. “He emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation in areas such as trade, investment and anti -terrorism.”
The FO added that Rubio reciprocated the desire to give for greater trade and investment in several sectors, particularly in “critical minerals.”
“He said that cooperation in the economy and commerce would be the distinctive seal of future relations between the two countries,” reads the statement, referring to the Secretary of State.
According to the statement, GIV highlighted the anti -terrorism efforts of Pakistan between 2013 and 2018, with Rubio appreciating Pakistan’s struggle against terrorism and expressing the “desire of the United States to further improve anti -terrorist cooperation.”
The two leaders also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, and the Secretary Rubio agrees “about the need to resolve the issue of US military teams that is left behind” in the country after their withdrawal in 2021.
“DPM/FM Dar and the Rubio Secretary of State agreed to remain in close contact and work together to advance the shared interests of both countries,” the statement concluded.
This call occurs after the president of the United States, Donald Trump, imposed a 10 percent rate to all goods imported by the United States, even Pakistan.
Trump imposed a 29pc tariff on goods that imports from the United States of Pakistan, which charges at 58pc from the USA.
Ali Hasnain, an associated economy professor at Lums, said that “the United States is one of Pakistan’s most important commercial partners, and with which we direct the greatest commercial surpluses,” and added that almost a fifth of the country’s exports were destined for the United States.
Facing a decline support point in the US market, finance minister, Muhammad Aurengzeb, presented plans to send a high-level delegation to Washington, hoping that the US tariff regime could evolve into a situation of winning for both countries.
“You should never let a good crisis waste. We are seeing it as a challenge and an opportunity,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad.
