Pakistan US Relations

And The Challenges Ahead

Remarks by Ambassador Mahmud Durrani

At The Nixon Center on 20 th July 2006

It is a pleasure and an honor for me to be here at the Nixon Center for a discussion on US Pakistan relations and the challenges that lie ahead. I will touch upon some key issues and leave more time for an interactive session.

Needless to say, the current state of relationship between our two countries is better than it has been for a long time and the good news is that we are moving towards a long-term sustainable relationship based on shared interests and values. The most important of the shared interests is the common vision of a world free of extremism and terror . In my judgment ridding the world of terrorists will be a long haul, therein lies the main challenge.

A few details about the present status of the relationship would be in order:-

•  Starting with a common cause against terrorism the relationship has expanded to include multiple strands like, economic relations, trade, science and technology, education, culture and people to people contact. For Pakistan the good news is that the United States is today our largest trading partner and the single largest investor.

•  Groundwork for the current relationship was laid soon after 9/11 but a formal framework was established more recently during the recent dialogue between President Bush and President Musharraf in March this year in Islamabad . The broad contours of the framework were spelled out in the U.S. Pakistan Joint Statement . To oversee the progress in the implementation of this framework an institutional Strategic Dialogue has been set up, to be co-chaired by the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan . The first session of the strategic dialogue was held in April this year in Washington DC and was very satisfactory.

•  Today Pakistan is a major non - NATO ally of the United States and the leading member of the war against terrorism. Pakistan – US defense collaboration has been enhanced post 9/11. The defense collaboration is multi faceted including: coordinated operations against terrorists along the Pakistan Afghan border, joint training, sharing of intelligence, strengthening of Pakistan 's legitimate defensive capability and its ability to fight terrorism. To further expand and coordinate our cooperation in defense an institutional mechanism has been setup, in the shape of the Defense Consultative Group (DCG) co-chaired by the Secretary Defense from Pakistan and his counterpart in the Pentagon.

•  In the field of economic cooperation and trade a similar mechanism has been set up to facilitate the growth of trade and economic cooperation. The purpose of this mechanism is to facilitate Pakistan 's economic growth through increased trade and investment links with the US and within the region and the global economy. For this too an “ enhance economic dialogue” has been instituted, to be co-chaired by the Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs and the Finance Secretary of Pakistan . I would also like to mention here that the U.S. is helping Pakistan in improving the lot of the people of the under-developed and troubled tribal belt of Pakistan which adjoins Afghanistan . This cooperation is within the ambit of counter terrorism. You may have heard of the buzz word ROZs, which means: Reconstruction Opportunity Zones.

•  Another important strand of the relationship is in the area of Science and Technology. This is an area about which I am especially excited. The purpose of this relationship is to develop collaborative activities and relationships between the scientific and technological communities of the two countries with the purpose of improving the quality and relevance of Pakistan 's higher education and research in the areas of science, technology, medicine/ life sciences, and agricultural sciences. For this too a Pakistan – US Joint Commission on Science and Technology has been setup to be co-chaired by the Director of the National Science Foundation in the US and by the Advisor of the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Science and Technology. The inaugural session of this commission was concluded today in Washington DC . The prospects for cooperation look bright.

•  Energy is the life blood for the development of any country. Pakistan , with an expanding economy and a deficiency in fossil fuel needs help. Pakistan has drawn up an energy plan looking at our energy needs for the next twenty five years or so, it is called the energy Vision 2030 . The purpose is to optimize the utilization of the country's resources and to reduce dependence on imported fuel. The plan looks at the exploitation of hydropower, gas, oil, coal and nuclear power. From the current capacity of about 20,000 megawatts our requirement in 2030 is expected to grow about eight times. The US is aware of our energy needs and we have formed an Energy Working Group with a view to supporting Pakistan to develop public and private collaboration on a broad range of energy sources. Incidentally, this working group has had its first meting earlier this month in Washington DC .

•  Another important component of the relationship is the cooperation in education. The education dialogue is due to take place shortly, maybe in the beginning of August. The US would assist Pakistan in its ongoing reforms in the public education sector. The dialogue will also focus on cooperative activity to build linkages between academic and research institutions plus the promotion of the exchange of students and faculty. Yesterday I spoke with three of the twenty teachers from Pakistan who have just completed a short course on the education of teachers in the Plymouth State University . They told me that their experience was very rewarding.

•  Lastly, I will like to mention the important strand of cultural exchanges and the people to people contacts. Recently there has been an exchange of delegations to understand each other's culture. So far the Kennedy Center in Washington DC has been the focal point for cultural activity. Unfortunately the current visa system in the US is a hindrance in development people to people communications.

As you can see the menu is very rich and diverse, from collaboration in counter terrorism to cultural exchanges. In my estimation the two fundamental challenges will be: first, to remain focused on the agenda and second to translate the various dialogues into action on the ground. Although both Pakistan and the U.S. share the common vision of a world free of extremism and terror the complex geo-political environment of the region can make this a delicate balancing act, yet another challenge.

I thank you for your attention.

July 20, 2006