FAISALABAD - American President Barack Obama is planning to visit Pakistan this year in order to strengthen bilateral relations, said Jennifer Larson, Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate General, Lahore. She was addressing students at a session on 'Pakistan-United States Relations towards Future organised by the Directorate of Students Affairs, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The session was chaired by UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmed Khan. Pakistan has an imperative importance and the strategic relations should be more strengthened. The United States is determined to uplift various sectors in Pakistan and working on it she said, adding that in this regard, many development initiatives by USAID are being taken in Pakistan for the uplifting of education and infrastructure development, energy and health sectors as well as gender equality etc. Responding to a question regarding Obamas visit to India and Afghanistan by skipping Pakistan, she said that the visit of a president does not mean to make or break relations. Anyhow, she assured that the president will visit Pakistan soon. Talking about terrorism, she said the US wants to see stable Afghanistan and Pakistan. In a bid to counter terrorism, her government is committed to bringing the peace back by assisting both countries. Responding to a question about 'discriminatory attitude with Pakistan by US, she ruled out the allegation by quoting an example saying that Mumbai attacks last week, the United States has given a statement that it is not related to Pakistan. She stressed the need to expedite people-to-people contacts at grassroots level to remove misunderstandings among the two nations in the form of exchanging delegations etc. Talking about gender discrimination, she stressed the need to ensure the active participation of women in every sphere of life, terming it essential for the development of a country. She hailed the decision of appointment of Hina Rabbani Khar as a Foreign Minister who is the first lady FM in the history of Pakistan. Talking about UAF, she said the university enjoys good reputation in United States in the field of agriculture and people of US are well aware about the university. She also said that her government is determined to provide assistance at the time of natural calamity such as flooding and earthquake as it did in the past. Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmed told the audience three years ago, there were less than 40 female faculty members at the university but now this number has risen to 130. He said that during the said time, there were three women hostels but now the campus is equipped with five hostels for women including women complex and Day Care Centre. He the university is committed to making it more gender friendly and steps are being taken in this regard. He urged the youths to work with more dedication in every field of life for the development of the country. Director Students Affairs Prof Dr Zafar Iqbal Qureshi highlighted the significance of Pak-US ties and introduced the guest speaker. Students from various faculties attended the session.