“US-Pakistan relationship is vital, and it has endured. And I trust it will continue to do so in the years ahead as we build on what we have accomplished and identify new areas for cooperation on these shared objectives.” -Ambassador Donald Blome
US Ambassador Stresses the Importance of US-Pakistan Relations at Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad
By Elaine Pasquini
Donald Blome, US ambassador to Pakistan since May 2022, addressed the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) on July 24, 2024, on current US-Pakistan relations. This alliance, he said, has been, and remains, “vitally important to both countries and the region.”
“The United States and Pakistan share a long history of partnership and cooperation,” the ambassador stated, noting the relationship has endured “despite its many challenges.”
The United States’ relationship with Pakistan is important for many reasons, he said. “Simply put, we recognize Pakistan’s enormous potential. It is one of the world’s most populous countries, with a growing and dynamic young population.”
In the past few years, the United States and Pakistan have tackled many obstacles together, including floods, a pandemic and economic setbacks.
“The United States is committed to seeing this partnership succeed and flourish, which is why we have invested so much in it over the years,” Blome said.
The economic partnership of the two countries is one of the cornerstones of the relationship. The United States is Pakistan’s largest export market with bilateral trade between the nations exceeding $9 billion.
The private sector has recognized Pakistan’s potential and has also contributed to growth and prosperity since the country’s founding in 1947, the ambassador noted. “American businesses have played a leading role in Pakistan. US firms overwhelmingly employ Pakistanis from top to bottom, training them for the highest technical and management levels. These employees go on to establish and run their own global firms, helping Pakistan realize its enormous potential and showcasing the far-reaching impact of our economic collaboration,” he said. “They bring American values of openness, transparency, and community citizenship to the private sector here. These companies provide nearly a hundred thousand Pakistani jobs, drive critical research and development, and support local communities.”
Sustaining and growing this long-term relationship, however, faces additional headwinds as Pakistan’s economy sits at a critical juncture, Blome warned. “We recognize the need for serious economic reforms – implemented courageously and purposefully. We fully support Pakistan’s work with the IMF to develop a sustainable approach to its budget and fiscal challenges, and Pakistan has made important progress on this front in recent days. Ultimately, Pakistan needs to solve the problem of generating economic growth, which will only come through unleashing the creativity and energy of its private sector.”
As a leading contributor to Pakistan’s development, the United States’ assistance has most notably supported infrastructure initiatives, including the rehabilitation and completion of the Mangla, Tarbela, Gomal Zam, Satpara, and Golen Gol hydroelectric projects, Blome explained. These dams provide clean, affordable energy to millions of homes, prevent catastrophic water shortages, and mitigate the damaging effects of flooding. “Today we are upgrading Mangla with new General Electric turbines,” he said. “These originals lasted 50 years, and the new versions will last another 50 years. That’s a 100-year investment in Pakistan the United States has funded directly, not through loans.”
In addition to the more than $215 million the US has provided for flood recovery and relief, “we are also making investments in clean energy, water, and agriculture to help better position Pakistan for the future,” he added.
Through the US-Pakistan Green Alliance framework, both countries are working to address water management, climate-smart agriculture, and renewable energy.
A new climate-smart agricultural program to help farming families adapt and prepare the agriculture sector for a new era of sustainability and improved water management was launched by the US this summer.
“Going green not only mitigates climate change and environmental degradation, it also offers Pakistan tremendous economic opportunity,” Blome said. “Green industries are increasingly profitable, expand trade and investment, and create new jobs, new industries, and new opportunities. We want to have Pakistan as our partner in this challenge,”
As a supporter of Pakistan’s healthcare system, last May the United States and the Sindh government launched a groundbreaking initiative with an investment of $9 million, aimed at addressing tuberculosis, a significant health challenge in Pakistan. The US government is providing more than $85 million in funding to address malnutrition in Pakistan, including $12 million to treat acutely malnourished children. US programs have constructed hundreds of new schools and rehabilitated thousands more, providing access to quality education for millions of Pakistani children and training for thousands of teachers.
In addition, the US Mission sends more than 500 Pakistanis to the United States each year on educational and professional exchanges to support the two-way exchange of US and Pakistani artists, musicians, and subject matter experts on topics of interest such as climate change and entrepreneurship.
“The US Embassy in Pakistan spends more than $20 million annually to support academic exchange opportunities for Pakistanis, including our prestigious Humphrey and Fulbright programs,” the ambassador explained. “We have provided more than $30 million to support 34 university partnerships between US and Pakistani institutions of higher education.”
Another aspect of American support is the continued commitment to preserving Pakistan’s rich cultural heritage. “Through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation and other grants, we have supported the conservation of Gandhara archaeological treasures, the preservation of Mughal architectural heritage such as Wazir Khan Mosque, the restoration of Sufi shrines and Hindu monuments such as Hazrat Shah Shams Tabraiz and Varun Dev, and supported the preservation of Buddhist monasteries such as Takht-i-Bahi,” he said.
In addition, the United States has provided more than $1 billion to Pakistan’s federal and provincial institutions for justice and security projects in the past 40 years. Such initiatives have provided life-saving equipment to law enforcement, improved security infrastructure, and trained police, prosecutors, and judges around the country.
Importantly, the US will continue to advocate for upholding the rights of all Pakistanis especially the freedoms of expression, assembly, and worship that are guaranteed in the country’s laws and constitution. “Protecting human rights for all is not just a fundamental pillar of a democracy; it is a critical component of a vibrant and stable society, drawing on the talents and contributions of all its citizens for the country’s benefit,” Blome stated. “Without such stability, the prospects for investment and economic growth appear far less certain.”
In 2025, Pakistan will assume a seat on the UN Security Council, and “the United States looks forward to working with its representatives to strengthen regional stability and to promote human rights and religious freedom for everyone,” Blome emphasized.
In closing, the ambassador reiterated that the “US-Pakistan relationship is vital, and it has endured. And I trust it will continue to do so in the years ahead as we build on what we have accomplished and identify new areas for cooperation on these shared objectives.”
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
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