ISLAMABAD: Participants of an international conference on Wednesday discussed ways to further improve Pakistan, US ties.

The Area Studies Centre for Africa, North and South America at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) and Dawood Law Associates co-hosted a one-day virtual international conference on ‘Pakistan-US Ties: The Way Forward’.

The conference was attended by scholars from both the US and Pakistan to discuss the dynamics of bilateral ties between the two countries.

The Vice Chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University, Professor Dr Mohammad Ali, in his welcome speech lauded the role of QAU in promotion of dialogue and providing a negotiation platform to the national and international academia on issues of mutual importance.

Emphasising upon the huge geo-economic potential of Pakistan, he further said: “I would like to emphasise upon showcasing the strength of Pakistan’s immense potential as a huge market comprising more than 212 million people among which 60pc comprises youth and its equal potential as a connecting point for South, Central and West Asia, which makes it a hub of geo-economic interactions to promote peace and prosperity in this highly connected and globalised world.”

Conference Co-host, Attorney Dawood Ghaznavi further appreciated the role of QAU Area Study Centre in promotion of bilateral ties between Pakistan and the US through educational exchanges and people-to-people contacts.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congressman Al Green admired the role of Pakistani diaspora in promotion of bilateral ties between the two countries. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee highly appreciated the efforts of incumbent government in Pakistan to address the challenges of climate change. While sharing her personal experiences of the visit to Pakistan identified several areas of mutual cooperation such as education, e-commerce, medicine and lauded Pakistani people as “great humanitarians”.

While focusing on joint vision of the US and Pakistan on ‘Geo-Economics’, the US Embassy Chargé d’ Affaires Angela Aggler emphasised upon strengthening economic ties between the two countries.

She said the United States was by far Pakistan’s largest export market, but there was still room for growth.

“Pakistan has much to offer for the US investors across a wide range of sectors, notably fast-moving consumer goods, the IT sector, agribusiness, and financial services, and there are numerous reasons to be optimistic,” she said, adding that Pakistan has become the leading market for US dairy cattle exports, enabling Pakistani dairy farmers to dramatically increase productivity and profits.

The conference concluded with remarks by the In-Charge, Area Study Centre, Dr Sadia Sulaiman, who termed this particular phase in Pakistan-US ties as “Window of Opportunity” for both the countries to redefine their bilateral ties without focus on a third country.”

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2022