President Asif Zardari meets US Ambassador, calls for enhancing bilateral ties

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday met US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome and underlined the need to enhance trade and investment relations with the United States, besides exploring collaborative opportunities in diverse sectors.

He said that American enterprises should be encouraged to invest in the Pakistan Stock Exchange as well as bring innovative business ideas to the country’s economy.

During the meeting, the president said that Pakistan had enjoyed a long-standing and broad-based relationship with the USA spanning over seven decades, which needed to be further strengthened.

He said that the top priority of Pakistan was to put its economy on the right track and overcome economic and security challenges. He highlighted that climate change was a global issue, and Pakistan was among the countries most vulnerable to its adverse impacts.

President Asif Zardari also said that Pakistan wanted to improve its agricultural sector by adopting modern irrigation techniques to conserve water and reduce reliance on flood irrigation.

Ambassador Donald Blome said that Pakistan and the US could enhance bilateral collaboration in the fields of trade & investment, climate change, renewable energy, agriculture and security.

He informed that the US had completed the Sindh Basic Education Programme to build climate-resilient schools to strengthen Pakistan’s education sector. He also congratulated the president on assuming the office for a second time.