NEW YORK: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he sees an opportunity to enhance strategic relationship with Pakistan, but emphasized that its warming relationship with Islamabad does not come at the expense Washington’s ties with India.
“We see an opportunity to expand our strategic relationship with Pakistan, and I think we’ve made – that’s our job, is to try to figure out how many countries we can find how we can work with on things of common interest,” Rubio told journalists, traveling with him En Route to Doha, Qatar, according to a transcript of his remarks released by the State Department..
He was asked if India has raised concerns about the United States’s growing relationship with Pakistan, which have improved rapidly over the past few months with President Donald Trump hosting Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House.
“They really haven’t – I mean, we know they’re concerned for obvious reasons because of the tensions that have existed between Pakistan and India historically,” Rubio said in response to a question if New Delhi raised concerns over Pakistan ties.
The top American diplomat said New Delhi has to understand that the United States needs to have relations with a lot of countries.
“But, I think they have to understand we have to have relations with a lot of different countries,” he noted.
“So, I think the Indians are very mature when it comes to diplomacy and things of that nature. Look, they have some relationships with countries that we don’t have relationships with,” Rubio added.
Rubio added: “So, it’s part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy. I don’t think anything we’re doing with Pakistan comes at the expense of our relationship or friendship with India, which is deep, historic, and important.”
The relationship between the United States have grown dramatically under President Donald Trump, whose administration has hailed Pakistan as a “phenomenal” counter-terrorism partner.
The two countries have also signed a $500 million agreement on exploration of rare earth, with Pakistan recently shipping the first consignment this month.
Islamabad’s praise for President Trump’s role in working out a ceasefire in May conflict with India and nomination for Nobel Peace Prize for the U.S. leader have also generated goodwill for the ties.
In August, Rubio said every single day the United States keeps an eye on what happens between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear powers who fought a deadly 87-hour long conflict in May.
President Trump announced on May 10, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire, something Pakistan openly acknowledged while India denied US had any role.
Washington’s ties with India have been strained over a delay in trade agreement and Washington’s 50% tariff on Indian goods for its purchases of Russian oil.
