Marco Rubio said that the US and Pakistan have long had cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism.
Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the US is looking at new opportunities to enhance its strategic ties with Pakistan. He said that the improvement in relations with Islamabad has nothing to do with US relations with India.
During the weekly press briefing, Marco Rubio was asked whether India has expressed concern over the growing relations between Pakistan and the US. To this, he said, “No, it is not, although India may naturally be concerned because historically relations between Pakistan and India have been tense, but we have to have relations with different countries of the world.”
The US Secretary of State added that Washington is looking to enhance partnership with Pakistan in areas of common interest, especially with regard to counter-terrorism, economic cooperation, and regional stability.
He clarified that “what we are doing with Pakistan is not at the expense of relations with India, but a balanced partnership with both countries is part of our foreign policy.”
Marco Rubio said that the US and Pakistan have long had cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism and we want to take it further. He added that “we know that there are some difficulties, but the recent improvement in relations is encouraging.”
It should be noted that according to reports last month, progress is underway on an agreement between Pakistan and the US to export rare earth minerals, which could prove to be a new chapter in strategic cooperation between the two countries.
