Bob Corker calls on Sartaj Aziz

Negotiations between Islamabad and Washington are gaining momentum with the deadline for the departure of US troops from Afghanistan is approaching.
In this connection, US Senator Bob Corker called on the adviser to the prime minister on national security and foreign affairs.
Corker, member of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, accompanied by US Ambassador Richard Olson called on Sartaj Aziz at the Foreign Office.
During the negotiations, both sides discussed matters of mutual interest and regional issues, including the situation in Afghanistan.
The adviser expressed satisfaction at the current trajectory of relationship between Pakistan and the US and hoped that bilateral relations would be further strengthened and deepened on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect.
Aziz underscored the need for greater market access for Pakistani goods in the US market and increase in US investments in Pakistan, especially in the energy sector including construction of large hydropower projects. He emphasised that it should be the joint endeavour of both sides to double bilateral trade in the next few years.
Corker praised the comprehensive briefing given by the adviser and assured him that the US Congress would continue to support democracy in Pakistan.
He remarked that Pakistan had huge potential for economic resurgence. The senator reassured that the US Congress would continue to support Pakistan in its three priority areas of energy, economy and trade.
Corker is on a two-day visit to Karachi and Islamabad, during which he engaged top Pakistani administration and the business sector to focus on bilateral ties and expanding economic relations between the United States and Pakistan.
As a member of the US Senate’s Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, he has an extensive experience and expertise on US and international economic and financial affairs.