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WASHINGTON, Sept 26: President George W. Bush has assured Pakistan that his government wants to help bolster the South Asian country’s economy.
Accepting credentials of the newly-appointed Pakistani ambassador to Washington, Jehangir Ashraf Qazi, here on Wednesday, Bush described Pakistan as “a vital and stalwart friend and a key partner for the United States.”
He said: “In addition to expanding military and law-enforcement efforts, the US is assisting Pakistan’s efforts to provide basic social services to more of its citizens.”
Bush said immediately after following the Sept 11 attacks, the United States bolstered Pakistan’s economy with $600 million in support funds. This initial effort, he said, was followed by the $3 billion debt rescheduling agreement signed last August, “and I am working with the US Congress to provide Pakistan with an additional $ one billion in debt relief.”
Appreciating Pakistan’s support to the anti-terrorist campaign, President Bush said his government was “marshalling hundreds of millions of dollars” in additional resources and expertise to assist Pakistan in training teachers, modernizing curriculums and providing more healthcare services to its most needy citizens.
TERRORISM: “Over the longer term, these initiatives will build Pakistan’s human resource base, make your country more attractive to investors, expand Pakistan’s potential to attract higher value-added industries, and widen the prospects for ordinary Pakistanis to lead better lives,” he said.
Bush said that to encourage this economic revitalization, he has asked members of his government to “expand economic cooperation between our countries.”
He described the joint US and Pakistan efforts to build Islamabad’s capabilities to fight terrorism at home as “a key part of this effort” and said Washington was providing training and equipment for this purpose as well.
Referring to a recent Pakistani law to ban money-laundering, Bush said: “I also appreciate the government of Pakistan’s efforts to implement a world-class anti-money-laundering law, which I believe is an indispensable tool for depriving terrorists of necessary funding.”
He said the United States and Pakistan “stand shoulder-to-shoulder, working to eliminate international terrorism.”
Recalling his meeting with Musharraf on Sept 12, a day after the first anniversary of terrorist attacks, Bush said the two leaders discussed “many aspects of our countries’ renewed and improving bilateral relationship, including our joint efforts to bring to justice the terrorists responsible for perpetrating these attacks and plotting new ones.”
PAKISTANIS THANKED: He said Pakistan continued to provide invaluable assistance in capturing some of the most important terrorist ringleaders and their followers. “The people of the United States greatly appreciate Pakistan’s unstinting support for Operation Enduring Freedom, and as I told President Musharraf, I want to continue expanding cooperation between our countries.”
He said Washington welcomed the holding of parliamentary elections in Pakistan on Oct 10 and stood “ready to assist Pakistan in this endeavour.”
Bush also offered US assistance to “Pakistan’s efforts to reinitiate dialogue with neighbouring India and to strengthen ties with its other important neighbour, Afghanistan.”
NEW ENVOY: Earlier, the new ambassador, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, presenting his credentials to President Bush.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Qazi recalled Pakistan-US ties and laid emphasis on more market access to Pakistani products.
He said although the US was Pakistan’s largest trading partner and a major foreign investor, the overall commercial interaction between the two countries remained far below.
He added Pakistan and the US had already formed a joint economic forum. A working group on trade and investment and a joint business council were being established.
The two countries, he said, also had a joint working group on counter-terrorism and law enforcement and were also cooperating with each other to curb drug trafficking.
The ambassador assured the US president that Pakistan’s support to the war on terror would continue till the shared goals of the two countries were fully met.
He said the two countries had a shared interest in strategic nuclear restraint in South Asia.
Qazi said without a just and lasting solution of Kashmir, hopes for a durable peace in the region would remain elusive.
