President Biden for building strong basis for moving Pak-US ties forward

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden, in a brief conversation with Pakistan's Ambassador Sardar Masood Khan, expressed his desire to build a strong basis for moving ties between the two countries forward.

According to a statement issued by Pakistan’s Embassy in Washington, Ambassador Masood Khan visited the White House to meet and greet the US president on Monday.

“Sardar Masood Khan, Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, visited the White House to meet and greet President Joe Biden and have an official photograph [taken] with him which is an established tradition here in Washington DC for newly appointed envoys,” it said.

During the ceremony, the US President and the Pakistani envoy had a brief conversation on “building a strong basis for moving the US-Pakistan ties forward”.

Apart from the Pakistani diplomat, 46 other ambassadors were also there to have an official photograph with the US president one by one. They too had not been able to call on the president for more than a year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

It is pertinent to note that Ambassador Masood Khan arrived in Washington DC on March 25. On that day his credentials were received by the US Chief of Protocol and he was designated as “Appointed Ambassador”.

On April 19, Ambassador Khan’s credentials were formally accepted by President Joe Biden.

“The official photograph completes all formalities," the statement added.