ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: Pakistan and the United States have agreed to forge renewed cooperation in defence and economic fields and the issue will be finalized during President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s visit to Washington.
Informed sources said here on Tuesday that four major areas have been identified for increasing bilateral cooperation which include defence, new fiscal support, technical and commodity assistance and enhanced market access.
The increased cooperation in major fields is likely to result in additional $1.5bn to $2bn annual assistance including through the USAID, the offices of which have just been reopened in Islamabad after a period of about 12 years.
The visiting US deputy secretary, Treasury, Kenneth Dam, held a detailed meeting with the minister for finance, Shaukat Aziz, on Tuesday and discussed with him wide-range of issues. They tentatively agreed to further improve bilateral cooperation in economic and defence fields.
Mr Dam who is heading a five-member US delegation had met the president on Monday and reportedly assured him of all possible support to revive the Pakistani economy for which Washington would also use great measure of influence in the international financial institutions particularly the World Bank and the IMF.
Sources said that a number of agreements will be signed during the president’s three-day visit to the US starting from Feb 12.
Sources said that the issue of spare parts for various defence armament including F-16 aircraft will also be discussed. Concerned officials were expressing hopes that there will be certain breakthrough to have meaningful defence cooperation between the two countries. This cooperation has almost been non-existent for the last many years due to Pakistan’s nuclear programme.
The finance minister told this correspondent that it would be difficult to give some new annual figure of assistance from the United States. However, he said that there will be an increased cooperation in major fields and that the US government has assured to provide all possible support to Pakistan.
He said that the minister for commerce, industries and production, Razak Dawood, was currently in the United States and was holding negotiating with concerned officials to have additional market access for Pakistan.
“We have been assured considerable market access in the shape of reduced duties and additional quota”, he said adding that a number of things will be crystallized during the president’s visit to the United States. He said he would be accompanying the president.