ISLAMABAD - United States Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale yesterday discussed Pak-US relations and matters of mutual interests with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
It was the first meeting of the David Hale after assuming his ambassadorial assignment in Islamabad. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi was also present in the meeting.
The US Ambassador stated that the successful visit of the Prime Minister to USA earlier in October is considered highly important. He said that during his tenure in Islamabad, he would focus on following up and implementing the agenda set out in the joint press statement including in the areas of economic and trade relations.
The Ambassador congratulated the prime minister for successful holding of the Heart of Asia Conference in Islamabad and stated that the US is keen to pursue the agreements reached in the trilateral and quadrilateral meetings on Afghanistan.
The prime minister stressed on the need to work towards significantly improving the bilateral relations including in the economic and trade fields.
The prime minister said that the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi was a positive development and hoped to resolve bilateral issues between India and Pakistan through dialogue.
David M. Hale said that USA encourages both the countries to resolve their differences through peaceful means.
Hale had also met Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on December 4. He visited General Headquarters (GHQ) and discussed matters of mutual interest including regional security situation with the COAS.
President Barrack Obama had appointed David Hale United States Ambassador to Pakistan in March 2015.
Hale had previously served as the US special envoy for the Middle East as well as Ambassador to Jordan and Lebanon.
He has also served at the State Department as the Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.