US, Pakistan agree to continue counterterrorism cooperation, boost trade ties

The United States and Pakistan have agreed to continue their cooperation on counterterrorism, and increase bilateral trade and investment, the State Department said Monday. The agreement was made late Sunday during a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was visiting the United States for the first time since 1999. Discussions covered a broad range of domestic and regional issues, including counterterrorism cooperation, peace and security, collaboration on Pakistan's energy sector, increasing bilateral trade and investment, and the common interest in a secure and stable Afghanistan, according to a statement issued by the State Department. Both sides agreed on the importance of their continued counterterrorism cooperation and that extremism is countered in part by opportunities arising from greater economic stability, the statement said. "To that end, the U.S., Pakistan's largest trading partner, remains committed to an economic relationship increasingly based on trade and investment," it added. Speaking before his meeting with Sharif, Kerry said the two sides would hold a series of high-level, important discussions in the coming days on the bilateral relationship, which he said "could not be more important." Sharif's visit came amid reports that the State Department has urged U.S. Congress to resume military aid to Pakistan of more than 300 million U.S. dollars. Military assistance was interrupted in 2011 after a U.S. operation that killed Al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden in Pakistan without Islamabad's knowledge, and a U.S. cross-border airstrike that killed a number of Pakistani soldiers. Sharif is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Wednesday.