By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 25, a move seen as a significant step in strengthening ties between Islamabad and Washington, local media reported on Tuesday.
The high-level meeting, reported by private broadcaster Geo News citing sources, will also include Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.
The talks, backed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, will cover a broad agenda, including Pakistan’s recent floods and the fallout from Israel’s attack on Qatar. The Pakistan-India situation is also expected to be discussed, they added.
Diplomatic sources confirmed to Geo News that Riyadh and Doha support the Sharif-Trump meeting, though Pakistan’s embassy declined to comment on the potential talks. The meeting comes amid improving relations between Islamabad and Washington, particularly after President Trump brokered a ceasefire in May to end armed conflict between nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with both reaffirming their commitment to deepening Pakistan-US ties across multiple areas of cooperation.
Dar and Rubio met in July to discuss bilateral relations, trade, investment, counter-terrorism, and regional stability. Following those talks, the two nations announced a trade agreement aimed at boosting bilateral commerce, improving market access, and fostering investment, including in oil reserve development. The deal includes tariff reductions, particularly on Pakistani exports to the US.
The warming economic and diplomatic ties follow several high-level visits by Field Marshal Munir to the US, including a rare one-on-one meeting with Trump in June. In August, Munir attended the retirement ceremony of outgoing US Central Command (Centcom) Commander General Michael E. Kurilla and the change-of-command ceremony for Admiral Brad Cooper. During the visit, he also met Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine.
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