The Foreign Secretary, Mr. Riaz H. Khokhar Visits Washington DC

The Foreign Secretary, Mr. Riaz H. Khokhaar visited Washington from 14-15 November 2003. He held talks with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and met with the Deputy National Security Advisor Steve Hadley in the White House. Pakistan's Ambassador to Washington, Mr. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi and the Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. Mohammad Sadiq, also attended the meetings. Exchange of views on the situation in Afghanistan, with reference to strengthening the hands of President Hamid Karzai; the situation in South Asia, focusing on the delicate situation of the conventional military balance in South Asia, as a result of the continuing military build-up at a massive scale; and Pakistan-US cooperation in the fight against terrorism, including the deployment of Pakistani forces in the tribal areas were some of the subjects covered during the Foreign Secretary's visit.

The Foreign Secretary later briefed the newsmen at the Pakistan Embassy. Expressing satisfaction over the outcome of his talks with the US officials, the Foreign Secretary said that things were moving in the right direction. Referring to the recent visits to the United States of the President and the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary observed that the frequent exchange of high level visits marked the high point of the relations between the two countries. The above visits were followed by the regular session of the Defense Consultation Group and the visit of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Muhammad Aziz Khan, to Washington.

Washington, DC
November 16, 2003