Pakistan envoy pushes 'strategic, economically rooted' US partnership

Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh met US Congressman John Larson in Hartford to discuss ways to further strengthen the longstanding and consequential partnership between Islamabad and Washington.

Stressing the importance of Pak–US ties, Sheikh said the relationship had repeatedly proven vital not only for both countries but also for the wider free world.

He pointed to the current, unprecedented positive momentum in bilateral relations and urged that this goodwill be converted into a strategic, economically grounded partnership built on mutually profitable propositions.

He underscored Pakistan’s improving economic indicators, including single-digit inflation, upgraded credit ratings by all three major agencies, and ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) engagement, as evidence of stability and opportunity.

He added that sectors for collaboration included information technology (where Pakistan offered a 70% cost advantage over the US and remained competitive with regional peers), enhanced US agricultural exports (cotton, soybeans), energy, and investment through the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

Congressman Larson welcomed the Ambassador’s outreach and expressed strong support for deeper economic and people-to-people ties, noting the vital role of the more than a million-strong Pakistani-American community, among the higher-income diaspora groups in the United States, as natural bridges for trade, investment, and political engagement.

Both sides agreed that Pakistani-Americans should lead the effort to realise “Pakistan for Profit” opportunities advantageous to both nations and pledged to work together to build an enduring, mutually rewarding partnership for current and future generations.