US vows to continue cooperation with Pak govt

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday extended felicitations to newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while vowing to continue long-standing cooperation with the Pakistan government.

"The United States congratulates newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and we look forward to continuing our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan's government," the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said in a statement.

The statement said that Pakistan has been an important partner on wide-ranging mutual interests for nearly 75 years and that the US values that relationship. "The United States views a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as essential for the interests of both of our countries," the statement concluded.

In response, Pakistan thanked the United States for the message of felicitations on the election of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. A Foreign Office spokesperson, in a statement, said, "We thank the United States for the message of felicitations on election of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

"Pakistan and the US have had a long-standing, broad-based and mutually-beneficial relationship, that we look forward to further deepen and solidify. This is important for peace and development in the region and beyond," he added.

Meanwhile, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said, “I sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of your election as Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.” The current level of Azerbaijan-Pakistan relations, based on strong ties of friendship and brotherhood, and strategic partnership, is gratifying, he said and added, “I am convinced that the cooperation between our countries on a bilateral and multilateral formats will continue to develop and expand to the benefit of our peoples.”

Ilham Aliyev said, “I wish you good health, happiness and success in your responsible activities for the prosperity of the brotherly Islamic Republic of Pakistan." Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked his UK counterpart, Boris Johnson, for offering him felicitations on holding the office of the prime minister, saying he wanted to take the multifaceted relationship with the UK to the next level. A day earlier, PM Johnson congratulated PM Shehbaz and said that he wanted to work with Pakistan's newly elected premier.

"The UK & Pakistan have a longstanding relationship and our people share deep ties. I look forward to working together on areas of shared interest," the UK PM had said. Responding to the UK PM’s statement, PM Shehbaz vowed to expand the bilateral ties and strong friendship between the two countries.

“Thank you Mr Prime Minister for your message of felicitation. Pakistan and UK share deep-rooted & broad-based ties. I look forward to working closely with you to further expand our longstanding friendship & take our multifaceted relationship to the next level,” said PM Shehbaz.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended thanks to president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi for their message of felicitation. The prime minister, in a tweet, said, I extend my thanks to the President & Prime Minister of the UAE & the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi for their message of felicitation. “I look forward to closely working with the UAE leadership to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between our two brotherly countries,” he added.