Shehbaz set to meet Trump at White House

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House on Thursday, with the meeting coming weeks after the two countries agreed to a trade deal.

The agenda of the meeting scheduled at 04:30pm EST [01:30am PST on Friday] has not been disclosed by either side and there is also no information who will accompany the prime minister during the talks.

Moreover, the event is “closed press”, meaning that media persons won’t have access to the two leaders and public would have to rely on press statements, as the two leaders are expected to regional and global issues with a special attention to Middle East.

Read more: Pakistan, US sign MoU on critical minerals, rare earths

Meanwhile, Trump will host his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan at the White House before meeting Shehbaz, seeking to agree arms and trade deals that could help ease a series of diplomatic disputes that have dogged US-Turkiye ties for years.

US-Pakistan ties have warmed in recent months under Trump after Washington had for years viewed Pakistan’s rival India as a counter to China’s influence in Asia.

Washington’s relations with New Delhi have been tested under the Republican leader over issues such as visa hurdles for Indians, high tariff rates imposed by Trump on goods from India and Trump’s repeated claims that he brokered an India-Pakistan ceasefire in May after the South Asian neighbours engaged in their latest hostilities.

The United States and Pakistan announced a trade deal on July 31 with a 19 per cent tariff rate imposed by Washington. Trump is yet to reach a trade deal with India.

Officials and analysts have noted that after tensions with Washington, New Delhi is recalibrating relations with China as a hedge.

FOCUSED ON ADVANCING US INTERESTS

Trump welcomed army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir earlier this year, the first time a US president hosted the head of Pakistan’s army at the White House, unaccompanied by senior Pakistani civilian officials.

Read more: Pezeshkian hails Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defence pact

“We’re working through a number of issues when it comes to counter-terrorism, when it comes to economic and trade ties,” a senior State Department official told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday when asked about Pakistan.

“And so the president remains focused on advancing US interests in the region, that includes through engaging with Pakistan and their government leaders,” the official said.

Read more: US confident of ‘some sort of breakthrough’ on Gaza

When asked about frictions with India, the official said Trump believed in being frank about frustrations in ties but the relationship was strong. Washington viewed New Delhi as a good friend and partner and believed their relationship would define the 21st century, the official said.

They added that Washington had been working on planning for a summit of the Quad grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the United States that India had been expected to hold in November. That would happen, “if not this year, early next year,” the official said.

Pakistan has backed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, although Islamabad has condemned US ally Israel’s bombardments in Gaza, Qatar and Iran.

Read more: Muslim leaders for Gaza ceasefire, reconstruction, stabilisation

Shehbaz was part of a meeting Trump had on Tuesday with leaders of many Muslim-majority countries where the US president discussed Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Washington says the US shared peace proposals with leaders from those countries in the meeting held on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly.

US-TURKIYE AFFAIRS

Turkiye, a regional military power with NATO’s second-biggest army, is seeking to recoup a $1.6-billion investment in F-35 fighter jets, after Washington ousted Ankara from a joint production programme and cancelled a sale of the planes.

The US action came in response to Turkey’s purchase in 2019 of Russian S-400 missile defences, which also saw its defence industry hit with sanctions.

Erdogan hopes for a breakthrough with Trump that could lift the sanctions and allow it to acquire the fighter jets again.

On Russia, Ankara remains opposed to Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine, even as it also opposes the invasion itself and has supplied Kyiv with drones and arms. Any expansion of US sanctions on Russia could hurt Turkey, which maintains good ties with Moscow and is among its biggest energy buyers.

Meanwhile, Erdogan also focusing on advancing Turkiye’s interests on issues like Gaza and Israel, Syria and tariffs.

It’s a developing story. Details to follow.