New York: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday held a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his maiden official visit to New York, as they discussed bilateral relations, regional situation, and cooperation in various sectors between the two countries.
The foreign minister had arrived in the US on Tuesday to attend the two-day ministerial conference on the threat to global food security, triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the invitation of Blinken.
In a series of tweets, Bilawal shed light on key talking points of his meeting with the senior US official.
“We reaffirmed the importance of the 75th anniversary of Pak-US relations and mutual commitment to strengthening broad-based, comprehensive ties between the two countries,” Bilawal wrote in a tweet after the meeting.
The foreign minister said he had in-depth discussions on issues impacting regional peace and security, including Afghanistan.
“[We] resolved to work together to meet the challenges of food and energy security,” he said.
The two sides also discussed expansion of cooperation in trade and investment, energy and climate change, health and education, IT and tech, and agriculture as well as the importance of “trade over aid”, according to Bilawal.
Bilawal meets UN secretary general
Meanwhile, the foreign minister also met United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today at the UN Headquarters.
According to the Foreign Office, Bilawal underscored the importance attached to multilateralism and the UN in Pakistan’s foreign policy.
He stated that Pakistan adhered firmly to the principles of the UN Charter and always supported solutions to global issues in accordance with those principles.