25 June 2008
United States Seeks Long-Term Partnership with Pakistan
Comprehensive partnership rooted in democratic values, say officials
Washington -- Pakistan’s new, democratically elected government presents the United States with a historic opportunity to revitalize its relationship with a key regional ally, senior U.S. officials say.
“The safety and security of the United States is inextricably linked to the success, security and stability of a democratic Pakistan,” says Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, America’s top diplomat for South and Central Asia.
As Pakistan’s new government faces a number of security and economic challenges in the wake of the February 18 elections, Boucher told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee June 25 that America seeks to build a long-term, comprehensive partnership.
“We want to help the new leaders modernize the nation in all its aspects,” Boucher said. “Modernize democratic institutions. Modernize an economy that can provide jobs to its citizens. Modernize the education system. Modernize the security services so that they can effectively fight terrorists. And, bring the arrangements for the Tribal Areas up to date so that the writ of government prevails throughout the nation.”
The committee hearing was the latest installment in a conversation between the senators and the Bush administration on ways to improve economic and security assistance to Pakistan. (See “U.S. Looks Forward to Continued Partnership with Pakistan.”)
Committee Chairman Joseph Biden was among several U.S. lawmakers who served as election monitors in the Pakistani election. He has proposed tripling nonmilitary assistance to Islamabad over the next 10 years to $1.5 billion.
“We need a broad-based engagement … that gets to the issues that matter to the Pakistani people most,” Biden said, including health care, education and efforts to promote new economic opportunities.
“The United States should make clear to the people of Pakistan that our interests are focused not on supporting a particular leader or party, but on democracy, pluralism, stability and the fight against violence and extremism,” added Senator Richard Lugar, the panel’s top Republican.
Boucher was joined by Mark Ward, assistant administrator for Asia at the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is working throughout Pakistan on projects aimed at improving education and health care, promoting new business opportunities and training government administrators.
USAID’s community-based approach has brought local communities into the conversation, Ward said, letting area residents and local officials set their own priorities on what types of aid they would like to receive.
“In some communities, this will mean a new road. In some communities it'll mean a well or an irrigation canal. But in all communities, it will mean giving people a stake in their future,” Ward said.
Ward and Boucher urged members to support funding for reconstruction opportunity zones -- new industrial parks along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border whose manufacturers would create local jobs and benefit from duty-free entry of their goods into the United States.
America’s bipartisan consensus supporting Pakistani democracy sends a powerful message, Boucher said, which he hopes to underline during his upcoming visit to the region.
“We want to see this new government succeed, because it represents the desires of the Pakistani people,” Boucher said. “We will continue to pursue a long-term, comprehensive partnership with Pakistan that seeks to address their most important needs and strengthens our relationship as democratic allies and partners.”
