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WASHINGTON: The White House confirmed on Friday that US President Barack Obama would meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Seoul on Tuesday, after the Nuclear Security Summit in the South Korean capital.
“The meeting will be an opportunity for the United States and Pakistan to continue high-level consultations on areas of mutual interest,” the White House said.
“In particular, the President looks forward to reviewing our efforts to support an Afghan-led reconciliation process.”
The United States is also sending its special envoy Marc Grossman to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, for a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari.
Mr Zardari will be in Dushanbe to attend a regional conference on Afghanistan.
(According to AP, Mr Grossman said in Brussels on Friday that the United States and Pakistan would resume talks about possibly reopening Nato and US supply routes to Afghanistan once Pakistan concludes its debate about new terms of engagement with the US.
Mr Grossman said he respects the work of a Pakistani parliamentary commission that recommended this week that Islamabad should demand an unconditional apology from the US before the supply routes are reopened. It also called for an end to American drone attacks inside Pakistan.
Once Pakistan’s government concludes its work, “we’ll then be in a conversation with the government of Pakistan about how to go forward,” Mr Grossman said in response to a question about the possible reopening of the supply routes.)
Pakistan’s envoy in Washington, Sherry Rehman, is expected to accompany the prime minister to Seoul to help him in the US-Pakistan talks.
Also on Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a separate statement on the Pakistan Day, assuring Pakistanis that the United States remains committed to working with them in bringing stability and prosperity to their country.
“On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Pakistan as you celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the Lahore Resolution, which laid the foundation for the creation of Pakistan,” Secretary Clinton said.
She noted that from the Tarbela Dam project to the founding of the Lahore University of Management Sciences and Karachi’s Institute for Business Administration, “Pakistan and the United States have a rich history of cooperation”.
The Tarbela Dam, she noted, had helped light Pakistan’s growing cities and powered its industries while the two institutions had educated so many of Pakistani leaders.
During the 2005 earthquake and the floods of 2010 and 2011, the United States and Pakistan once again worked with each other to save thousands of lives, she added.
“We are committed to continuing this engagement and support as both of our nations work to build peace and prosperity in Pakistan and the region,” Secretary Clinton said.
“We appreciate the work that all of you – political leaders, teachers, bloggers, Muslim and minority religious leaders, gender activists, business leaders, and journalists – are doing to promote peace and tolerance,” she said.
