Pakistan wishes to expand ties with US: FO

Islamabad: Pakistan valued its partnership with the United States and wished to expand it bilaterally as well as in terms of regional and international cooperation, said Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed here on Wednesday.

The spokesperson in a statement said, “We are thankful to the United States for inviting Pakistan for participation in the Summit for Democracy, being held virtually on 9-10 December 2021.”

He said Pakistan was a large functional democracy with an independent judiciary, a vibrant civil society, and free media.

“We remain deeply committed to further deepening democracy, fighting corruption, and protecting and promoting human rights of all citizens. In recent years, Pakistan has instituted wide-ranging reforms aimed at advancing these goals. These reforms have yielded positive results.”

“We value our partnership with the U.S. which we wish to expand both bilaterally as well as in terms of regional and international cooperation. We remain in contact with the U.S. on a range of issues and believe that we can engage on this subject at an opportune time in the future.”

He said Pakistan will meanwhile, continue to support all efforts aimed towards strengthening dialogue, constructive engagement, and international cooperation for the advancement of our shared goals.