To commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Pakistan, US Department of State Counselor Derek Chollet visited Islamabad and Karachi from September 7 to 9, along with a delegation of senior officials from the Departments of State, Defense, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the White House National Security Council.
Counselor Chollet spoke about a variety of topics, including strengthening trade and investment ties, working together to lessen the effects of the climate catastrophe, improving bilateral partnerships in the health sector, and increasing intercultural exchanges. Additionally, they expressed US support for the Pakistani people in tackling the humanitarian catastrophe brought on by the country’s disastrous flooding.
Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, consults Counselor Chollet frequently on matters of policy. The counselor stated, “I’m thrilled to commemorate the 75th anniversary of US-Pakistan bilateral relations. This has been a really productive tour to Pakistan.”
Counselor Chollet discussed $53.1 million in humanitarian aid provided by the US this year to support disaster resilience and flood response, including $50.1 million for emergency flood relief and an additional $3 million in programming provided earlier to support disaster resilience, in his meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
In addition to bolstering Pakistan’s capacity to withstand future natural disasters, this money from the United States will help Pakistan deliver critical humanitarian aid to those in need and lessen the effects of the climate crisis.
Counselor Chollet highlighted options for the US to support Pakistan’s flood response and US-Pakistan security cooperation during his meeting with Army Chief General Bajwa. the counselor advised Pakistani leadership that a $450 million Foreign Military Sales case for maintaining Pakistan’s F-16 fleet had been duly reported to Congress by the Department of State.
While in Karachi, Counselor Chollet met with the chief minister of Sindh to explore ways to enhance trade avenues and other common goals. They also spoke about the province’s present flooding conditions, particularly the severe damage they have caused and how the US aid is getting to those in need.
The counsellor also went to Madrassa Jamia Islamia Clifton in Karachi, which is running a distribution center for humanitarian aid, and talked with the staff there about how the aid packages will be delivered to the people directly. Later, he spoke with a number of volunteers and NGO leaders to get a personal idea of the severity of the problem and to find out about the current aid activities.
The US government is highly dedicated to fostering a more stable, secure, and prosperous future for both countries by enhancing collaboration in trade, security, education, interpersonal relationships, clean energy, and health-related fields.
