US-Pakistan talks boost partnership

[Pak-US talks]

* Event marks a major intensification of partnership

* Broadening partnership is based on mutual respect and mutual trust

US: The United States is touting high-level and wide-ranging talks here on Wednesday with Pakistan, a frontline ally in the war on extremism, as a major intensification of partnership. President Barack Obama’s administration has promised to engage more deeply with Pakistan, which has long seen Washington as interested only in securing its military cooperation in the fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The talks chaired by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will cover not just security but also economic development, water and energy, education, communications and public diplomacy, and agriculture, US officials said.

Pakistan has mentioned ten topics, including health as well as science and technology.

The event “marks a major intensification of our partnership,” said Richard Holbrooke, the US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“This is a partnership that goes far beyond security, but security is an important part of it.”

The broadening partnership is based “on mutual respect and mutual trust,” Holbrooke told reporters on Friday.

“The United States is supporting Pakistan as it seeks to strengthen democratic institutions, as it seeks to foster more economic development, expand opportunities, deal with its energy and water problems, and defeat the extremist groups who threaten both Pakistan’s security and stability in the larger region, and American national security as well,” he said.

Holbrooke said the meetings Wednesday will touch on US legislation adopted last year for 1.5 billion dollars to be sent to Pakistan over the next five years — a sharp increase in US economic and development aid. “We have to have the money appropriated,” Holbrooke said after he discussed the matter last week with senior administration officials at the White House.

“We are looking for every way to accelerate the obligations and the disbursement,” he promised. “We do not think that the money is moving as fast as we’d like it to.”

In Islamabad, Qureshi last week called on Washington to follow up words with action, saying he wants a completely different format to ensure the talks are broad-based.

Washington, Sunday, AFP