Wilbur Ross visit to further strengthen Pak-US trade, economic ties: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD, Feb 26 (APP):Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said the visit of United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross would further strengthen bilateral, trade and economic relations between Pakistan and the United States.

Addressing a press conference here at the Foreign Office, he said the US Secretary of Commerce reached Islamabad in pursuance of the shared vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and US President Donald Trump, who at a meeting in Davos had agreed how to increase their economic and trade relations.

Qureshi said the US Secretary of Commerce in his separate meetings with Advisor to the PM on Commerce Abdur Razak Dawood and Minister for Energy Omar Ayub held in-depth discussions on the entire spectrum of Pakistan-US Trade.

He said various areas had been identified where both the countries could increase trade ties. The objective of the meetings was ‘how to increase trade ties’.

He said a pleasant change had been witnessed in the US policy regarding Pakistan following President Trump’s policy statement about South Asia in 2017. He said today the US had accepted that a new chapter was being added in Pak-US relations.

He said talks on trade relations were being started while a clear stance on travel advisory was coming from the United States. The US officials had now accepted that Pakistan had taken concrete steps on implementing the recommendations of Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The foreign minister said all such things did not happen overnight, but it was the result of continued efforts of the present government. Praising of Pakistan and Prime Minister Imran Khan by President Trump at a huge rally in Ahmedabad, India, was not so easy.

The US president’s mediation offer on the Kashmir issue on the Indian soil and terming it a thorn was a development and “we should recognize it”, he added. “The pendulum is swinging and our diplomacy is gradually bearing fruit.”

Qureshi said he had been invited by the Qatar government to attend the signing of US-Taliban peace deal to be held in Doha on February 29. The US had accepted that Pakistan could play a role for the resolution of Afghan issue, he added.