US to enhance ties with Pakistan: Armitage

Visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said here on Tuesday that the United States will further enhance its relations with Pakistan.

The official made the remarks while meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar here, said a statement from the Foreign Office.

The US official stressed during the meeting that the Bush administration will maintain the continuity in its policy toward Pakistan, said the statement.

Armitage briefed Khokhar on the US perspective and assessment on the emerging trends in the Middle East and the security situation in Iraq.

The meeting covered "the whole spectrum of bilateral relations"and reviewed regional and international issues of mutual interest, the statement said.

Both sides agreed that after "the successful presidential election" in Afghanistan, the priorities for the violence-rattled nation are economic development and reconstruction.

Both Pakistan and the United States would be supportive in the achievement of these goals, said the statement.

The two sides underlined that Pakistan and the United States, as coalition partners, will continue to cooperate in the war against terrorism.

The Pakistani foreign secretary briefed the US official on the progress so far in the Pak-India dialogue process.

Armitage expressed the satisfaction over the continuing engagement between the two South Asian nuclear powers.

Riaz Khokhar said that Pakistan is also keen to promote "a solid, broad-based and long-term relationship" with the United States encompassing cooperation in the areas of investment, trade and defense.

The US official is to meet with Pakistan's president, prime minister and foreign minister later on Tuesday.

These will be the first high-level talks between Pakistan and the United States since President George W. Bush won his re-election, said the statement.

Source: Xinhua