White House releases declaration of Imran-Trump meeting

WASHINGTON: The declaration released by the White House stated that the US President Donald J. Trump showed willingness ‘to strengthen cooperation with Pakistan on issues that are vital to the peace, stability, and prosperity of the South Asia region’ during his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan.

President Trump and PM Khan discussed a range of issues including counter-terrorism, defence, energy and trade.

President Trump wants to build stronger economic and trade ties with Pakistan, which would benefit both of our countries, as we make progress on core United States security concerns.

Read: Trump offers mediation between Pakistan, India on Kashmir dispute

“The United States is committed to creating the conditions necessary for a peaceful South Asia.”

According to the declaration, President Trump expressed desire to President ‘to build stronger economic and trade ties with Pakistan’ which would benefit both countries.

Peace and stability

Pakistan has made efforts to facilitate the Afghanistan peace talks and taken acknowledgeable steps for regional security and counter terrorism. It added that Islamabad has also taken some steps against terrorist groups operating within the country.

“It is vital that Pakistan take action to shut down all groups once and for all.”

The declaration stated, “The path to a strong and enduring partnership between Pakistan and the United States lies in working together to find a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan.”

Trade relationship

The United States and Pakistan enjoy a strong economic partnership while both countries have set a new record for bilateral trade in 2018 of $6.6 billion.

“United States exports to Pakistan reached a record high of $2.8 billion in 2018, supporting approximately 10,000 American jobs. Over the past 15 years, the United States has been one of the top five investors in Pakistan. The United States is the largest export market for Pakistan’s goods.”

Read: PM Imran Khan meets US President Donald Trump at White House

The US energy producers are seeing more and more business opportunities with Pakistan and the American companies are incorporating cutting-edge technologies into energy projects throughout Pakistan, it added.

It is also noted that Pakistan has purchased extensive amounts of American liquefied natural gas (LNG), including 22.8 billion cubic feet of LNG from March 2017 to April 2019, whereas, ExxonMobil reestablished its presence in Pakistan in 2018 after 27 years and is working to increase LNG imports.