By IRNA,
Islamabad : The US Special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, said on Sunday that relations between Pakistan and the US are not only beneficial to the two countries but are also essentially imperative for the region.
Ambassador Grossman began his first visit to Pakistan on Sunday after his appointment last month at a time when the arrest of a CIA contractor, Raymond Davis, for the killing of two Pakistanis has badly damaged US-Pakistan relations .
Pakistan has so far rejected calls by the US to free Raymond Davis, who Washington says enjoys diplomatic immunity.
Pakistan’s stnace that the court would decide Davis diplomatic status has angered the US and it cancelled a tripartite meeting with Pakistan last month which also involved Afghanistan. Reports said that the CIA has also suspended contacts with Pakistani Army’s major spy agency, the ISI.
The US envoy met Pakistan’s Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and appreciated Pakistan’s focus on energy sector development as energy is fundamental for economic and social development of any country, a Finance Ministry statement said.
He also emphasized the development of Pakistan-US relations in terms of people to people contact as enshrined by the Minister.
Marc Grossman appreciated the government’s economic measures and hoped that these measures would benefit the people of Pakistan in the coming times, the statement said.
During the meeting, both sides discussed the establishment of Enterprise Fund by the United States, Coalition Support Fund and the Kerry Lugar Bill, under which Pakistan annually receives 1.6 billion dollars, it said.
The Pakistani Minister informed the US envoy that in the purview of strategic dialogue the main objective was to shift Government to Government relationship to people to people contact so that the basis of the bilateral relations are strengthened at the grass-root level. He stressed the establishment of Enterprise Fund by the United States so that Pakistani product can have access to the American market.
Officials said that the US envoy would also meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and representatives of civil society.