US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday told Pakistan it had the potential to become a future economic tiger as he backed reforms and inclusion of women and minorities. The United States and Pakistan were meeting for the first time since October 2010 for their “strategic dialogue.”
Kerry, who as a senator spearheaded a multibillion-dollar support package for the country, said the United States wants “stronger ties with the people of Pakistan — I emphasise, with the people of Pakistan —” as the Afghan war which forged their partnership winds down.
He praised Prime Minister Nawaz SharifÂ’s economic reforms, which include efforts to build PakistanÂ’s miniscule tax base, as part of a $6.7 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund.
“The United States has no doubt that Prime Minister Sharif’s policies will put Pakistan on a path towards a more prosperous future, and we fully support his goal of making Pakistan’s marketplace a tiger economy for the 21st century,” Kerry said.
| Don't try this at home, your lips will fall off... |
| So we aid energy production abroad and try to choke it here in the states. How typical of the Obama administration... |
“We believe very strongly that Pakistan is stronger for the diversity and dynamism of its people and is strongest when every man and woman in Pakistan, regardless of religion or sect or gender, participates in full in society,” Kerry said.
Pakistan has trudged forward at a growth rate of around three per cent over the past five years, short of the levels seen as needed for the youthful country to tackle widespread poverty. The growth is well below the growth clocked by East Asia’s “tiger” economies or neighbour and historic rival India.
The central State Bank of Pakistan has been more optimistic, projecting GDP growth of up to four per cent in the current fiscal year.
| I'm predicting that I'll cash in on the Powerball next week... |
Sartaj Aziz, Sharif’s national security adviser, said that Islamabad wanted to turn a “transactional relationship” into a deeper partnership in which the United States “will not look at Pakistan from the two specific lenses of Afghanistan and terrorism.”
| Since we're bugging out of the former and see the Paks as the problem, not the solution, in the latter... |
| Of course. You weren't good for anything else back then... |