U.S.-Pakistan Dialogue

U.S.-Pakistan Dialogue Focused on Pakistanis' Priorities

By Stephen Kaufman Staff Writer

Washington - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the ongoing strategic dialogue between the United States and Pakistan has sought to focus on areas of mutual interest beyond security, and is addressing priorities expressed by Pakistanis such as water, energy, health and jobs.

"These conversations are not just theoretical. They affect the lives of people here and across this country," the secretary said, speaking at a town hall meeting in Islamabad ( http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2010/July/20100719170934su0.580044.html ) July 19. During her two-day visit to Pakistan, Clinton announced more than $500 million in new U.S. development assistance for Pakistan.

"We want to try to solve problems that have troubled our nations and our relationship for decades. We want to contribute to building an enduring peace and lasting prosperity for Pakistan and this region. And we want to expand opportunities so that every boy or girl born in Pakistan has the chance to make the most of his or her God-given potential," she said.

According to fact sheets released by the State Department July 19, the new projects include the completion of two hydroelectric dams in South Waziristan and Gilgit-Baltistan that will supply more than 34 megawatts of additional power to 280,000 residents in those areas, the renovation and construction of three medical facilities, and seven projects to improve water distribution and efficiency in the country.

"All of these projects were made possible by the Kerry-Lugar-Berman funding and they all reflect suggestions from people like yourselves," Clinton told the people at the town hall meeting, referring to the five-year, $7.5 billion civilian assistance funds that were authorized by the U.S. Congress in the 2009 Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act.

The United States believes Pakistan can have a very positive future, she said. "But in order to do so, you have to invest in the most important capital there is - the human capital, in the education and health care and training and skills and employment of the Pakistan people. And we're going to try do everything we can to further that."

During her visit to Islamabad, Clinton also witnessed the signing of a transit trade agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The deal, which will ease truck shipments between the two countries, had been under negotiations for years.

"This is the most significant, concrete achievement between these two neighbors in nearly 50 years," Clinton said at the opening of the Strategic Dialogue meetings ( http://www.america.gov/st/texttrans-english/2010/July/20100719171121su0.7030908.html ) July 19. "I believe it will go a long way towards strengthening regional economic ties, creating jobs in both countries, and promoting sustainable economic development."

The agreement "will undoubtedly bring great benefit to the people of both countries and is also a major milestone in promoting regional trade," said U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, speaking to reporters July 19.

Ahead of Clinton's visit, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke urged international donors to deliver on more of the pledges of assistance to Pakistan that were made at the April 2009 Tokyo Donors' Conference.

Speaking at a meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) in Islamabad July 17, Holbrooke noted that so far the international community has disbursed or obligated $1.7 billion of the $5.2 billion that was pledged. He urged every donor nation to "aim to deliver additional assistance" before an October 14-15 ministerial conference that will be held in Brussels.

He said the United States has so far delivered $520 million of the $1 billion it has pledged for projects to improve social support, health, education, energy and water, adding, "We will deliver the remainder as promised."

Holbrooke welcomed the completion of a business plan between the Asian Development Bank and the Pakistani government to improve Pakistan's energy sector, and he endorsed recommendations made in a bank report that call for a "systematic, integrated approach to resolve the impediments to Pakistan's energy solvency phased over the next three years."

It will be important for the Pakistani government to implement badly needed reforms, and for the FODP to help facilitate both public and private international investment in the energy sector, Holbrooke said.

"For the U.S., be assured that we will use this framework you produced to orient our assistance in energy," he said.

He said the FODP also needs to continue prioritizing the needs of people displaced or dependent on external support in Pakistan's northwest, and he also urged the FODP to focus on Pakistan's water issues ahead of the Brussels conference.

ENDS

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