Foreign Minister's Remarks at the Joint Press Stake-out with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, 27 June 2006, Islamabad

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to welcome Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice to Islamabad again.

Dr. Rice is a good friend of Pakistan. She has played an important role in the positive evolution of Pakistan-U.S. ties over the past five years -- working towards a broad-based, long-term and sustainable relationship. Her visit to Islamabad enables us to carry forward our regular consultations process.

Secretary Rice has just called on President Musharraf. The exchange of views thus far has been extensive. We discussed our wide-ranging bilateral cooperation, our joint fight against extremism and terrorism, and the situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The exchange will continue over dinner

We reiterated our resolve to continue cooperation in the campaign against terrorism. This is fully consistent with our national interest. We also reaffirmed our strong commitment to a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan.

We had a fruitful exchange of views regarding the security situation along the border. Pakistan has taken important steps to strengthen security in that area. Enormous sacrifices have been rendered by our forces. We agreed to maintain communication and coordination through the Tripartite Commission (TPC) that has been set up between Pakistan, United States and Afghanistan.

As you recall, Pakistan and the United States established a strategic partnership during President Bush's visit in March 2006. Both sides are currently focused on implementation of the decisions taken during that visit. We are satisfied with the progress made on various tracks since last March. The inaugural session of Strategic Dialogue was held in Washington on 26-27 April. The preliminary session of the Economic Dialogue took place in Islamabad in May and, as we speak, our delegation is in Washington for the Energy Dialogue. The Dialogues on Science & Technology (S&T) and Education are due to take place in the coming weeks. It is thus clear that the architecture for building a multifaceted relationship created following President Bush's visit to Pakistan in March is progressing well. Earlier, our Defence Consultative Group (DCG) and the Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism met in Washington. These mechanisms have strengthened the institutional basis of our relationship and helped deepen mutually-beneficial cooperation in diverse fields.

Pakistan appreciates U.S. support to Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) and our development plans for the FATA region. These projects would create economic opportunities and help promote socio-economic development of these areas. Both sides have agreed to work closely in moving forward on these collaborative initiatives.

Secretary Rice was apprised of the developments in the peace process with India. Pakistan remains committed to seeking durable solution to all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir dispute. We believe now is the time to move decisively towards conflict resolution in South Asia.

I welcome you Dr. Rice to Pakistan and invite you to make your comments before we take two questions each from the two sides.

Islamabad
June 27, 2006