US encourages Pakistan to prioritise economic reforms

WASHINGTON: United States (US) Department of State Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel stated that Pakistan should “prioritise” economic reforms while discussing the engagements between Pakistani officials and US representatives on Thursday.

During a press briefing in Washington0 on Thursday, the deputy spokesperson stated that the US encourages Pakistan to prioritise its economic reforms and work on its own economic challenges.
“During the meetings, from our end, we encouraged Pakistan to prioritise and expand economic reforms to address its own economic challenges,” he stated.

On the question of the Pakistani Foreign Minister meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Elizabeth Holmstrom, Petal said he would leave it the Pakistani government to speak on the topics discussed during the meeting. “I will let the governed of Pakistan speak to any issues or topics they have raised in their engagement”.

He noted the Pakistan FM was not in New York City merely to meet with US government officials but to engage with other non-governmental organisations. The Pakistani FM has met with the officials of Deutsche Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in hopes of more loans and investment opportunity for Pakistan.

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“To take a step back, the [Pakistan] Minster of Finance is in the United States for a part of series of engagements with [not just] the US government inter-agency but also engaging with non-governmental organisations”.

Shifting the focus to regional peace initiatives, Patel addressed concerns regarding visits by Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister to Pakistan, and in particular, the upcoming Iranian president visit to Pakistan.

In response to questions regarding Iran’s intentions, particularly in light of recent escalations in the region, Patel expressed scepticism claiming Iran has engaged in “destabilising behavior” and actions detrimental to peace efforts within the Middle East.

“Lets first talk about Iran… I am pretty confident in saying that unleashing hundreds and hundreds of UAVs and ballistic missiles on Israel is certainly not any kind of action that is actually in the interest of and for the benefit of the Palestinian people.

“As it relates to any visits by the other foreign ministers or leaders [to Pakistan], I will let their governments comment on that specifically.

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“Broadly, we have continued to remain focused on de-escalation [in Middle East]. And as it relates to specifically the crisis in Gaza, we continue to call for a ceasefire; one that is coupled with release of hostages and the additional influx of humanitarian aid.

“We remain sceptical about Iran’s intentions given its continued and ongoing destabilising and malign behaviour as recently as just this past week”, Patel remarked.