PM seeks structured, broad-based engagement with US

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday stressed that structured and broad-based Pakistan-US engagement was critical to advancing both countries’ shared goals in bilateral and regional domains.

The prime minister, in a meeting with US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome who called on him, thanked the United States for its continued support for Pakistan’s post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, including at the recently held International Conference on Resilient Pakistan in Geneva.

The prime minister reiterated that Pakistan attached importance to its longstanding ties with the United States, a PM Office statement said. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to deepen economic and trade engagement with the United States.

Ambassador Blome said that the United States would continue to support Pakistan’s post-flood recovery as well as the government’s efforts for economic development and reform.

Meanwhile, Donald Blome on Thursday said that over the past 75 years, the United States has invested more than a billion dollars to strengthen Pakistan’s civilian law enforcement capacity and keep Pakistani citizens safe.

He made these remarks during a ceremony organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) Representative Jeremy Milsom and Balochistan Police Inspector General Abdul Khalique Sheikh for the successful completion of “Improving Rule of Law Program in Balochistan” project. It was funded by the US Embassy and executed by UNODC. The five-year plan commenced in February 2017 and concluded in December 2022.