WASHINGTON: Senator Jack Reed, chairman of the powerful US Senate Armed Services Committee, has assured Ambassador Masood Khan that the committee would engage with Pakistan to bolster bilateral relations between the two countries.
The assurance from the influential lawmaker came during a meeting between them that took place at the Senate Hart Building on Tuesday.
Defence cooperation between the two countries was on top of the agenda.
Senator Reed has held several leadership positions in the Senate for the past two decades and now leads the Armed Services Committee. He is also a member of the Intelligence, Appropriations and Banking Committees and has visited Pakistan many times.
During the meeting, Ambassador Khan told Senator Reed that Pakistan and the US have enjoyed close defence cooperation in the past and would like to build on their existing security bonds, according to a press release from the embassy.
The Pakistani envoy emphasised that many of the defence platforms used by Pakistan were American, which required sustained support.
“New avenues could also be explored,” he said.
“Our armed forces have coordinated in the past. Our two countries would continue to partner with each other in political and economic spheres”, Masood Khan added.
The ambassador also briefed the US senator about the regional security situation and Afghanistan, including the latest efforts to create conditions for stability and prosperity in the neighbourhood.
The ambassador said that economic viability and development were the utmost priorities for Pakistan. The engagement with the US had opened new channels and both sides were working to reinforce long-standing broad-based ties between the two countries spanning over more than seven decades.
Senator Reed welcomed the ambassador warmly and expressed the confidence that the long-standing ties between Pakistan and the US would continue to grow as the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, the press release added.
The ambassador extended an invitation to the Senator to visit Pakistan which he “gladly” accepted.
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