NEW YORK - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and US Vice President Joe Biden are set to meet on Friday (today) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with a senior American official stating that they hope to build "much stronger" ties between the two countries.
US Special Representative Dan Feldman told reporters the Sharif-Biden meeting "signifies the great importance that we place on the bilateral relationship.”
The “comprehensive” relationship between the United States and Pakistan is “very strong and much stronger than has been in recent years,” Feldman noted at the New York Foreign Press Center during a briefing on Afghanistan.
“We look forward to continuing the (Ministerial) strategic dialogue --- and to building on Prime Minister’s (Sharif’s) visit last year” to Washington, the American diplomat said, referring to the wide-ranging White House discussions between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Barack Obama on expanding the relationship.
The “entire spectrum of the depth and breadth of the relationship” including further strengthening bilateral cooperation and “regional security issues” would be part of the “rich” agenda of the meeting, Feldman said.
The meeting between US Vice President and the Pakistani Prime Minister is a continuation of high-level meetings including Secretary of State John Kerry’s meetings with top Pakistani leaders, he said.
With regard to efforts to check cross-border militancy along Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Feldman said the inception of a new administration in Kabul provides an ideal opportunity to improve the coordination and cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In response to a question about the ongoing demonstrations in Islamabad, Feldman said the US believes in a ”peaceful dialogue for resolution of the current situation” in a manner "that strengthens the Pakistani democracy."
The US, he said, believes in peaceful freedom of expression but urges respect for the rule of law, restraint and refrain from violence.
He reiterated the US opposition to any “extra-constitutional changes to the democratic system.”
Feldman also noted that the US is not involved in any way in discussions between the parties.