US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Elizabeth Horst has said that there is no quick fix to Pakistan’s economic problems, but implementation of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can help the country overcome the crisis.
The report of Dawn newspaper, the top US official said in a conversation with Pakistani journalists based in Washington that we support the arrangement (Standby Arrangement), it gives Pakistan a chance to breathe.
The head of the Pakistan Bureau in the US State Department said that Pakistan should continue to work with the IMF, there are solutions but there is no quick fix, he admitted that the coming days will be very tough for the Pakistani people, but they have to go through this difficult phase to improve the economy.
He assured Pakistanis that America and Pakistan have a long-lasting partnership that will not be affected by the current political situation.
The senior American official said that the current Pakistani government’s promise to hold early elections is promising for the United States, while no personality or party in the country is its favorite.
He said that it is for the people of Pakistan to decide which party they want to elect, we do not support one party against another party, we support the rule of law and democracy in Pakistan.
He said that the two-way trade between the US and Pakistan was 9 billion dollars in 2022, this trade volume makes the US the largest trading partner of Pakistan.
He shared statistics showing that US companies invested about $250 million in Pakistan in 2022, 120,000 Pakistani employees in American companies, US provided $215 million for flood relief in 2022, in addition to $33 million sent by Pakistani Americans.
The US official said that the US has provided more than $20 billion in aid to Pakistan over the past 20 years.
He said that last year we held the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meeting after eight years, held talks on climate, energy, health sector, we are also working on the Green Alliance framework, it shows that we are resetting the relationship.
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He noted that there are at least 550,000 Pakistanis in the US who can play a key role in maintaining the US-Pakistan partnership.
He said that climate change, economy and terrorism are the most important problems of Pakistan and America is helping Pakistan to overcome these problems.
The US official noted that around 80,000 Pakistani citizens have become victims of terrorism and that is why she believes that Pakistan has a vested interest in fighting terrorism
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