PM Gilani to meet Obama today

Pakistan

PM Gilani to meet Obama today

Close

PM Gilani will meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of nuclear summit in Seoul.

27 March,2012 04:10 am

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of nuclear summit in Seoul today.Earlier on Monday, Gilani informed the US president in an informal meeting that the Parliament would decided about the recommendations put forward by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) in connection with Pak-US relationship.Meanwhile, US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters in Seoul that President Barack Obama would seek to put strained relations with Pakistan on a more even footing when he meets Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the end of a nuclear security summit.Pak-US ties plunged to a new low in November when NATO’s aircraft from Afghanistan attacked two Pakistani border posts and killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.“There obviously has been a fairly turbulent period in US-Pakistan relations over the course of the last several months,” Ben Rhodes said.“We’ll want to address the state of the relationship,” he said.He said Obama would assure Gilani of “our continued interest in counter-terrorism cooperation” with Pakistan.Pakistan’s cooperation is considered critical to US efforts to stabilise Afghanistan before most foreign combat troops leave at the end of 2014. Pakistan has strong traditional links with the Afghan Taliban and other militant groups.Meanwhile, during a press briefing in Washington, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said that US respect Pakistan’s sovereignty.Victoria said that Pakistan and US are in talks regarding the new projects of energy sector in Pakistan.Nuland said that US understand the problem faced by Pakistan in energy sector and soon the problems would be resolved by the co-operation of both countries.Nuland said that President Obama met President Asif Ali Zardari in Dushanbe and matters regarding the current regional situation were discussed.