Pak-US strategic dialogue to be held in Washington today
The 6th round of the strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the US will be held today.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Pakistan and the US will hold a ministerial-level strategic dialogue in Washington today (Monday). Regional tensions, economy, security and counterterrorism are among the agenda of the talks.
Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz will lead the Pakistani delegation while Secretary of State John Kerry will lead the US side for the 6th round of the strategic dialogue.
It will be the third annual meeting since the present government has come to power. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the US last year had given the necessary impetus to the dialogue mechanism.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Reform Ahsan Iqbal, who is in Washington as part of the Pakistani delegation, while speaking at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said that Pak-US strategic talks is to extend the relations between both the countries.
Four-member Pakistani delegation reached Washington on Sunday to take part in the dialogue.
The six segments of the strategic dialogue include cooperation in economy and finance; energy; education, science and technology; law enforcement and counterterrorism; security, strategic stability and non-proliferation and defense.
Earlier while talking to Dunya News, Ahsan Iqbal said that the purpose of Pak-US strategic talks is to extend the relations between both the countries. He said that in the past, relations between both the countries were limited to security only.
Ahsan Iqbal also said that Pakistan keeps informing United States of security threats and would do so in the future.
He reiterated that Pakistan is trying to bring peace in the region for which it is working with the US.
In his last media briefing, State Department Spokesperson Mark Toner talked about the dialogue and stressed United States stance on Pak-India relations.
The spokesperson said that US has always endorsed talks and cooperation between India and Pakistan. He said that cooperation between the two neighbours to curb terrorism would benefit the region.
