While the United States and Pakistan – longtime allies in the fight against terror with ups downs in bilateral ties – differed on some key strategic issues, the two-way trade between them soared to $6.6 billion.
In 2018, there was over $6.6 billion in trade between the two countries, according to the U.S. embassy in Islamabad as the United States continues to be Pakistan’s largest market for exports.
The expanding commercial links were overshadowed by publicly traded accusations and complaints that the two sides voiced during the last two years.
President Donald Trump’s administration has anchored its foreign policy on America First approach and cut off and reduced aid to countries including Pakistan. Washington is also working to wind down the costly Afghan war – a factor that has partly revived cooperative ties between the U.S. and Pakistan.
Since Prime Minister Imran Khan’s support of the Afghan peace talks process, the U.S. and Pakistani officials have met several times to mend and boost ties.
Other strategic developments like China’s growing influence and heavy investment in Pakistan have also implications for foreign policy priorities in the region, where Pakistan and India – nuclear armed neighbors – are still to come out of a tense standoff over Kashmir.
In an indication of improving bilateral ties, the two sides discussed expanding commercial and economic relations.
As a part of ongoing efforts to create jobs and economic growth in both countries, Pakistan and the United States have held consultations under the U.S.-Pakistan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), the U.S. embassy said.
The statement particularly noted Pakistan’s economic potential, saying as much as “sixty percent of Pakistan’s 208 million population is under the age of 25, representing a large and growing market for goods and services.”
Pakistanis, in general, favor U.S. technical expertise and products over other countries, US embassy’s statement said.
“The goal of the TIFA meetings is to expand bilateral trade and investment in both goods and services.”
The officials discussed ways to improve access for products, such as agricultural goods and medicines, in each other’s markets.
“Additionally, given the growth in the digital economy in both countries, discussions about how to improve services and digital trade between the United States and Pakistan took place.
“While both sides desire to strengthen digital trade, the two sides also looked at ways to strengthen intellectual property rights and the business climate in Pakistan.”
Besides, both sides brought up important topics such as such as economic empowerment for women, labor reforms, and skill development for workers.
Pakistan concluded the discussions with an update on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Special Economic Zones established under the project to encourage trade, the statement added.
