Pakistan-US defence dialogue begins today
Pakistan and the United States will kick off a 3-day defence dialogue in Washington on Monday in a move highlighting renewed interest by both countries to reset their bilateral cooperation.
This is the second round of Pakistan-US Mid-Level Defence Dialogue scheduled for February 13 to 16 in Washington DC. The first round of the dialogue was held in Pakistan in January 2021.
'Pakistan's inter-agency delegation, led by the chief of general staff, will comprise of senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joint Staff Headquarters and three services headquarters,' a statement issued here on Sunday by the Pakistan Foreign Office read.
The US multi-agency team will be represented by the Office of Undersecretary of Defence, it added.
The statement said issues of bilateral defence and security cooperation will be discussed during the dialogue.
The future of Pakistan-US relationship remains uncertain after the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 and Washington's changing priorities where the focus is more on building ties with India to counter China.
But the defence dialogue suggests that the US did not want to completely abandon Pakistan. In September previous year, the Biden administration had proposed 450 million US dollar sale for Pakistan to refurbish its fleet of F-16 fighters.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price had said, 'This is a fleet that allows Pakistan to support counterterrorism operations, and we expect Pakistan will take sustained action against all terrorist groups.'
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