Pakistan and the United States remained engaged in price talks on Monday, with current efforts to conclude an agreement before the deadline of August.
The discussion marked the second engagement in three days, following the meeting of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on July 25.
“Deputy Prime Minister / Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the phone today,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Following their productive meeting last Friday in Washington DC, the FO said that they had discussed key bilateral issues, including prices, as well as regional and global questions of mutual interest.
The prices, initially put into force this month, were temporarily deferred until August, allowing a brief window for high issues negotiations. The United States remains the largest export market in Pakistan, representing around $ 5 billion in commerce.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the Ministry of Finance said that the Minister of Finance, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, had left for the United States to finalize the commercial negotiations of Pakistan-US.
During the visit, conclusive discussions will take place on the Pakistani commercial dialogue, aimed at forming a trade agreement that would benefit the savings of the two countries.
“Solid commercial and economic links remain a key pillar of Pakistani bilateral relations.
“There is an important potential for cooperation between the two countries in key sectors such as information technologies, minerals and agriculture,” said the press release.
Islamabad expected to conclude the agreement in early July, but the pace of talks was slower than expected.
Pakistan has also proposed to increase imports of American cotton and soy, while stressing that the United States remains its largest export market. In particular, Pakistan is the second buyer of American cotton in South Asia after China.
