KARACHI: Ambassador Donald Blome has denied that the United States is pressing Pakistan to choose between the US and China.
He was speaking at an interactive session on ‘US-Pakistan Relations: Present and Future’ organised by the Pakistan Council on Foreign Relations (PCFR) here.
Ambassador Blome opined that trade among partners was key towards economic prosperity. The trade must also be equitable and the US’s message to China is to go forward with fair trade terms and Pakistan should demand the same from its economic relationships, he added.
He said that for the last four decades, many policy makers in Washington have viewed Pakistan with the lens of US engagement in Afghanistan.
More recently, some commentators try to frame the US relationship with Pakistan in perspective of China or India or Russia, he said and added that it should stand on its own.
The US engagement with Pakistan remained very strong, he continued.
The ambassador saw Pakistan’s economic future bright as an engine of a larger regional economy, connecting South and Central Asia.
He hinted at potential of an improved economic relationship with India.
He said that on a regional level the US would like to reaffirm its commitment to partner with Pakistan to eliminate terrorism, countering emerging terrorist threats and addressing the roots of instability in this region.
He said that more than 2,000 Pakistani officers have gone on US-funded military education and training programmes and Pakistan is among the top two countries in the world for participation in US military exchanges.
Ambassador Blome said the International Monetary Fund is an independent institution that works within its policy framework, but the US wants to see Pakistan’s programme with the IMF a success.
He identified the economic issue as a major problem of Pakistan, saying that Washington is keen to see resolution of this problem.
He said the trade ties between Pakistan and the US had been growing with the passage of time, recalling that the US had donated 80 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to Pakistan during the pandemic.
He expressed the hope that the ties between the two countries would further flourish.
