14 July 2010

U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue Shows Progress in Many Sectors

Pakistan meetings helping advance the U.S.-Pakistan partnership

Secretary Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi shake hands at the Strategic Dialogue meeting in Washington in March.

By Carrie Loewenthal Massey
Special Correspondent

New York — U.S. and Pakistan officials strengthened plans for Pakistan’s development during a series of working groups held in Islamabad throughout June and July, building on partnerships established under the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue.

Numerous strategic dialogue groups met to discuss such topics as water management, health, agriculture, education, economics and finance, access to markets, energy, science and technology, communications, women’s issues, law enforcement and defense.  

The Pakistan sessions incorporate field experts and U.S. and Pakistani policymakers in each sector. Approaching the issues separately, in concentrated discussions, has allowed leaders to identify projects in key areas and create “a road map for making consistent progress,” said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking at March meetings of the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue.

Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi introduced the first ministerial-level discussions of the Strategic Dialogue in Washington in March. As a way to demonstrate the commitment of the U.S.-Pakistan partnership, the Strategic Dialogue includes a policy steering group and 13 topical working groups.  

“Our success will be determined not by how often we gather in government summits, but in how well our partnership translates into lasting progress for the millions who live in cities and villages far from the halls of power and whose lives will be shaped by our actions,” Clinton said. “Bettering the lives of people must remain the motivation for everything we do.”

Qureshi requested that the working groups meet in Pakistan to continue the joint U.S.-Pakistan efforts. Clinton said she hopes the dialogue will “expand and endure,” leading to more and more collaborative accomplishments and strengthened relations between the two countries.

According to U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, the Islamabad meetings have brought those ideas closer to fruition and have demonstrated a strong commitment to the dialogue’s objectives.

“In all of these meetings, we are discussing real policy issues and how to work together to advance our common agenda,” he said in Islamabad June 19. “This is real progress across the board.”

PARTNERING ON WATER, ENERGY, SCIENCE

One of the key areas of collaboration is water management, which was discussed at one of the working groups in June. U.S. and Pakistani officials worked to develop a list of mutually agreed upon priorities to tackle the significant water-scarcity threat Pakistan faces. Areas of concern include irrigation systems, safe drinking water and sanitation, conservation and developing a sustainable infrastructure for managing the country’s water supply, according to a joint U.S.-Pakistan press statement.

“This was the first time we have discussed water issues with Pakistan in such detail,” Holbrooke said in June.

The United States will support Pakistan in creating a water regulatory authority to help manage the many components of water security and the demands of the country’s different regions, many of which were represented on the working group. In fall 2010, the U.S. plans to host Pakistani water experts from the federal and provincial governments for meetings with American water specialists, “to study how the U.S. deals with our own serious federal-versus-state water issues — an issue that has been at the center of American history for over 150 years,” Holbrooke said.

With the first phase of the U.S. energy program Clinton announced in Pakistan in October 2009 under way, the United States and Pakistan are working to rehabilitate power facilities, improve tube well pump efficiency and enhance energy companies’ distribution performance, according to the Strategic Dialogue energy working group.

State Department official Kerri-Ann Jones, center, visits an exhibit of projects in Islamabad funded through a U.S.-Pakistan agreement.

The group is considering more short- and medium-term solutions to remaining energy shortages, as well as long-term measures such as increasing private-sector investment in energy, the group said.

A science and technology working group is exploring ways to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Pakistan as another area of cooperation.

WORKING TOWARD AN IMPROVED ECONOMY

Several of the Strategic Dialogue groups focused on economic issues, concentrating on agriculture, economics and finance and access to markets. The group on agriculture, meeting for the third time, agreed to focus on improving wheat and cotton productivity, combating animal and plant diseases, developing Pakistan’s dairy sector and increasing market access in the United States for Pakistani products like mangoes.

Increasing market access includes efforts to advance legislation to create Reconstruction Opportunity Zones, under which the United States would grant duty-free market access to goods produced in designated conflict areas of Pakistan to improve the livelihoods of people living in those regions. U.S. support for mutually agreed Pakistani priorities of energy security, food security and human development was an important conclusion of the economic and finance group.

Holbrooke spoke of using trade shows, such as New York-based textile and apparel shows in July, to further the business dialogue. “We want to give the U.S. business community a chance to learn that Pakistan is open for business, and we want to help you showcase the quality of your great Pakistani products,” he said.

FOCUSING ON WOMEN, HEALTH, EDUCATION

Health projects are an important element of the long-term U.S.-Pakistan partnership, as the Strategic Dialogue working group on health focused on Pakistan’s National Health Policy, improving provincial health care systems and expanding immunization campaigns, particularly for polio and hepatitis.

A group on women’s empowerment, conducting the first official U.S.-Pakistan dialogue on women’s development and empowerment, focused on such issues as exploring economic opportunities for women by creating technical training programs on entrepreneurship and microfinance, addressing violence against women, making key judicial and law enforcement agencies more aware of gender issues, and empowering women politically, with training programs for female local leaders.

Ensuring that all Pakistanis have access to quality education, particularly girls, was the focus of the education working group. The group also explored support for technical and higher education, creating centers of excellence at Pakistani universities and deepening U.S.-Pakistani exchanges such as the Fulbright Program. Pakistan has the largest Fulbright Program in the world, now in its 60th year in the country.

COOPERATING ON DEFENSE, LAW ENFORCEMENT

Two working groups continue to explore ways to increase cooperation on defense and on law enforcement to combat terrorism, with the defense working group meeting in Rawalpindi in June and the law enforcement and counterterrorism group meeting in Islamabad in July.

The defense working group, also called an exchange on defense planning, focused on the challenges faced by both Pakistan and the United States in their multiyear cooperation, and worked on areas of future cooperation on security issues. The law enforcement group explored counterterrorism legislation, strengthening judicial and law enforcement capabilities and improving border controls to help trade move more effectively but block contraband and terrorists’ travel.

Both groups issued statements with U.S. officials acknowledging and recognizing the sacrifices and courage of Pakistan’s agencies and people in combating terrorism, while Pakistani officials expressed appreciation for U.S. support and assistance on counterterrorism.

The Strategic Dialogue groups will continue to meet in the coming months, as both the United States and Pakistan pledge a deepening commitment to their long-term partnership.

As Clinton said in March, “Pakistan’s stability and prosperity is in the best interests of people everywhere. Its struggles are our struggles. Its future and ours are entwined. And its people and our people share many of the same dreams, dreams we are more likely to achieve working together.”

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)