NEW YORK, Sept 28: Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali arrived in New York on Sunday morning, a day ahead of his Washington visit where he will meet US President George W. Bush.
Mr Jamali’s official visit to Washington comes at the heels of a meeting between President Gen Pervez Musharraf and President Bush at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s session last Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, who will join Prime Minister’s entourage in New York, said: “Mr Jamali will carry forward the progress made during President Musharraf’s official visit to Washington in June,” and stressed that the prime minister’s visit would help establish close rapport with the US leadership and strengthen bilateral ties.
Prime Minister Jamali’s meeting with President Bush at the White House will be followed by a lunch and a joint press conference.
He is also scheduled to meet Vice-President Dick Cheney, and the US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Treasury Secretary John Snow will call on the Pakistani leader at his hotel suite.
Mr Jamali’s visit is being interpreted here as a gesture of the United States to encourage democracy in Pakistan. It is believed that Washington wants to indicate through this visit that democracy remains an important component of American interest in Pakistan.
He will also go to the Capitol Hill to meet the members of various committees of the US Congress, and address a Chicago-based Council of Foreign Relations.
During his New York stay before and after the Washington visit, he will also hold meetings with old friends and well-wishers.
On his arrival, he was greeted by officials of the Pakistan embassy and the Pakistan mission to the United Nations.
CONVENTIONAL ARMS: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali said he would hold talks with President Bush on further strengthening of bilateral relations and other important issues, adds APP.
Talking to reporters prior to his departure for an official visit to the US early Sunday morning, he described his visit as most important.
He said Pakistan and the US had very good and close friendship, specially after the 9/11 events. Both countries were cooperating with each other in the fight against terrorism, he added.
Replying to a question, he said there were many issues which would come up for discussion during his talks with the US president. Some of the issues were discussed by President Musharraf during talks with his US counterpart. The prime minister said his talks with the American president would be a follow-up of these negotiations.
Replying to another question, he said he would discuss with President Bush the conventional arms imbalance in South Asia being created by the acquisition of modern weapons by India.
Asked to comment on Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s refusal to hold talks in response to the offer made by President Musharraf during his UN General Assembly address, Mr Jamali said problems could only be resolved through talks.
This is Prime Minister Jamali’s first visit to the United States and would serve to establish further close rapport with the US leadership and further strengthen the bilateral ties.
Besides bilateral ties, he would also discuss with the US president and other officials regional and global issues, including Pakistan-India relations, developments in Afghanistan, the situation in Iraq and the Middle East peace process.
The prime minister, who left here on a commercial flight, was seen off by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Reza Hayat Hiraj, Minister of State for Tourism Raees Munir Ahmed and senior officials.