ISLAMABAD: National Security Adviser of Pakistan Dr. Moeed Yusuf and his counterpart from the United States of America Jake Sullivan met in Geneva and agree to advance cooperation in different fields.
The Pakistani and US national security advisers met in Geneva, Switzerland, the governments of both the countries issued a joint statement on Monday.
Both sides had a positive conversation on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest and agreed to advance practical cooperation on these issues, as per the statement.
A brief statement issued by US National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said, “Both sides discussed a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest and discussed ways to advance practical cooperation. Both sides agreed to continue the conversation.”
In a tweet, NSA Yusuf said he was “pleased to meet US NSA @JakeSullivan46”, adding that the Pakistan and US delegations had held positive discussions on a range of issues.
Pleased to meet US NSA @JakeSullivan46, yesterday. Pakistan and US delegations held positive discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. Both sides agreed to continue the conversation to advance cooperation in Pak-US bilateral relations.
— Moeed W. Yusuf (@YusufMoeed) May 24, 2021
PM Imran had appointed Yusuf as his NSA last week. According to a May 17 notification issued by the Cabinet Division, Dr Yusuf would, in his capacity as the NSA, enjoy the status of a federal minister.
He is the eighth person and the third civilian to hold this position since March 1969, when Maj Gen Ghulam Omar was appointed as the first NSA. Dr Yusuf has in the past remained associated with the United States Institute for Peace, where he held the position of associate vice president of the Asia Centre.
Today’s meeting between Pakistan NSA Dr Moeed Yusuf and his American counterpart Jake Sullivan is the first in-person high-level contact between the two countries since the Biden administration assumed office in January.
The meeting appears to be necessitated by the current situation in Afghanistan where there is a stalemate after little progress in the intra-Afghan talks.
The US troops’ withdrawal has threatened further instability, and Washington, along with other regional countries, is keen to seek a political deal before the last US soldier leaves the war-ravaged country by September 11.
In addition to bringing peace in Afghanistan, an improvement in the overall bilateral relationship is also a priority for Pakistan. It is believed that the NSA went to Geneva with a brief envisaging the country’s plan on how to expand ties with the US beyond Afghanistan.
Pakistan is keen that its relationship with the US is not security-driven and Washington must not look at Islamabad through the same lens it views China or India.
