Pakistan ready to engage with Biden administration: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan is ready to engage with the new administration of the United States, considering it an “opportunity to build a long-term, broad-based and multidimensional relationship”.

“Such partnership would require an institutionalized and structured engagement, based on mutual respect and cooperation,” the Foreign Minister said at a webinar on Pakistan’s priorities with the 46th U.S. administration, organized by Karachi Council on Foreign Relations, according to APP.

Qureshi expressed confidence that president-elect Joe Biden as an “old friend to Pakistan” would work towards strengthening ties between the two countries.

He said already exchange of messages had taken place between Prime Minister Imran Khan and the U.S. president-elect, who expressed interest of working with Pakistan on issues of common interests.

“Our historic ties can reset as Pakistan and U.S must share an understanding to deal with challenges of present for a better tomorrow,” he said.

Qureshi said the two countries needed to work in confronting challenges in the wake of pandemic, global economic slowdown, climate change and erosion of multilateralism.

He said the U.S. must continue to count on Pakistan as a partner for peace in Afghanistan where other actors did not share the same vision and played role of “spoilers”.

“Both our sides must remain cognizant that achieving an inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan would only be the first step towards peace,” he said.

The Foreign Minister said Pakistan and the U.S. needed to work together to facilitate Afghanistan’s transition from a war economy to a peace economy, adding that complete support and engagement of international community would be a vital or sustainable for peace and development of Afghanistan.

Qureshi said Pakistan had shifted its strategy of geo-politics in of the past to geo-economics.

He said at the cost of 83,000 innocent lives and 126 billion dollar losses to economy, Pakistan had turned the tide against terrorism.

Also, the erstwhile tribal areas that suffered the brunt of terrorism have been included into the political mainstream, he added.

He said Pakistan would continue to take action again terrorists on its soil.