ISLAMABAD: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday made a maiden telephone call to the newly appointed Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and extended an invitation to him to visit the US this month, the Foreign Office said. During the telephonic conversation, Secretary Blinken congratulated his Pakistani counterpart on the assumption of his office and expressed the desire to continue strengthening the mutually beneficial Pakistan-US bilateral relationship. An invitation was also extended by the Secretary of State for Pakistan’s participation in the Ministerial meeting on Global Food Security to be held in New York on 18 May 2022," read a statement issued by the Foreign Office. Building on the Pakistan-US cooperation in dealing with the COVID pandemic during the last two years, Secretary Blinken also invited Pakistan to the Second Global COVID Summit to be held virtually later this month. Exchanging views on various aspects of bilateral relations, Bilawal Bhutto underscored that Pakistan and the US have a longstanding broad-based relationship. He added that constructive and sustained engagement between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interest was vital to promote peace, development and security in the region and beyond. Bilawal Bhutto emphasised that Pakistan’s vision was focused on human development, regional connectivity, and a peaceful neighbourhood. Both the leaders agreed to remain in contact and enhance engagement on regional and global issues of mutual interest. A day earlier, taking to Twitter, Bilawal confirmed that he received the call from his American counterpart and thanked him for the felicitations. https://twitter.com/BBhuttoZardari/status/1522604518088880129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1522604518088880129%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F415514-in-a-first-antony-blinken-invites-bilawal-to-us Commitment to Afghan stability, combating terrorism In a separate statement, the US Department of State said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and reiterated the desire to strengthen the broad-based bilateral relationship between the two countries. https://twitter.com/SecBlinken/status/1522669776245510145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1522669776245510145%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F415514-in-a-first-antony-blinken-invites-bilawal-to-us During the telephonic conversation, Blinken underscored the resolute US-Pakistan commitment to Afghan stability and combatting terrorism. Both the leaders also highlighted ongoing engagement in trade and investment, climate, energy, health, and education. “This year marks the 75th anniversary of US-Pakistani relations and we look forward to strengthening our cooperation,” read the statement.
