Pakistan and the US will hold their first ministerial-level Strategic Dialogue in three years on Monday, during which they will review a wide range of issues, including Pakistan's peace process with India.
Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, today left for Washington to lead the Pakistani side at the talks that are expected to frame a blueprint to boost the bilateral relationship. The US side will be led by Secretary of State John Kerry.
Ahead of the meeting, State Department officials said the US is "interested in Pakistan's relationship with India and seeing improvements in that". The US will "encourage both sides in that regard", they said.
"We have a strong interest in improving relations between Pakistan and India and avoiding the slightest danger of a conflict that could escalate to a nuclear war that would affect every country in the world. These are all pretty important interests," an unnamed State Department official was quoted as saying by Pakistan's state-run APP news agency.
The officials said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had emphasised the need for better relations with India.
"He's taken some initiatives. He's met with his Indian counterpart. And I expect they'll want to tell us about what they see as the prospects in that regard," an official said.
The State Department officials highlighted the importance of cooperative economic, security and energy ties between the US and Pakistan. During the dialogue, the two sides will work to "put together a blueprint of where we can take this relationship over the course of the next six months to a year," one official said.
The officials contended that Pakistan and the US had improved their ties since 2011, when a spate of incidents like the killing of Osama bin Laden subjected it to severe strain.
"I think the relationship has become quite good between President (Barack) Obama and Prime Minister Sharif. The Prime Minister had an excellent visit (in October 2013) here, a very comprehensive set of meetings," an official said.
US-Pakistan cooperation spans many areas and is not confined to Afghanistan, the officials said. The US also has "an interest in Pakistan's domestic security".
