ISLAMABAD, Jul 6 (APP):Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday here said Pakistan desired to strengthen its bilateral relations with the United States in diverse fields.
Addressing a ceremony for the celebration of the 247th Independence Day of the United States of America, he said Pakistan and the United States had made serious efforts to mend their ties putting aside any misgivings and misunderstandings and now the relations were back to normal.
He assured of his personal efforts as head of the government and as a Pakistani to cultivate better and stronger relations with the United States on the basis of mutual trust and respect.
“Over the last 75 years, our relations have ups and downs but on the whole we have been very good friends.”
He said the United States was the largest trading partner of Pakistan and also a steadfast partner in the war against terrorism.
In the fight against terrorism, Pakistan lost 80,000 people from all walks of life and this unparalleled sacrifice explained Pakistan’s commitment and US had been a great supporter and partner in this fight, he remarked.
He said about five years ago when Pakistan was facing serious power outages, the then government established 5000 megawatts of LNG based power plants and the entire equipment was brought from the United States.
He said both the countries had a huge ground to cover and expand their ties in different fields including agriculture and information technology. Pakistan had great talent and youth bulge was a challenge but it could be turned into an opportunity with the support and cooperation of the United States, he continued.
He praised the United States for its support during the devastating floods last year.
“We value support of the US which had been the biggest donor and very helpful in providing relief to millions of flood affected people.”
He felicitated President Joe Biden and people and government of the United States on their 247th Independence Day.
He said he looked forward to visit of high powered delegations from the United States to further enhance cooperation.
In his remarks, the United States ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome said the economic partnership of the US with Pakistan was expanding .
The United States had been a leading investor in Pakistan and also Pakistan’s largest export market, he said adding during a ministerial meeting, both the countries made a significant progress in expanding market access for goods and services.
