Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday he was hopeful that a trade deal between Pakistan and the United States could be struck in a matter of days, not weeks.
“I think we are very close to finalising a deal with the US. Our teams have been here in Washington, discussing, having virtual meetings, and a committee has been tasked by the prime minister to fine-tune now,” Dar said in a discussion at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.
“It’s not going to be months, not even weeks, I would say (just) days,” he said.
The deputy prime minister shared these views after a productive bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the day; however, the US officials did not offer any timeframe regarding the much-needed trade deal.
“Ties between Pakistan and the US are getting better, and both sides have agreed to work on building a strong, long-term partnership,” he told the audience.
Dar noted that his discussion with Rubio covered a broad range of issues, with both sides expressing willingness to bolster cooperation in trade, investment, technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and counter-terrorism.
“We also discussed regional and global matters.”
Dar thanked the President Donald Trump-led US administration for playing a helpful role in easing tensions between Pakistan and India.
