By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States sees an opportunity to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan, emphasising that the recent strengthening of ties between the two countries does not come at the expense of Washington’s relationship with New Delhi.
Rubio made the remarks during a press briefing, where he was asked whether India had raised any concerns about the “stronger relationship” between the United States and Pakistan. “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. But, I think they have to understand, we have to have relations with a lot of different countries,” he said, according to a transcript of the briefing on the State Department’s website.
“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. 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. 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 comments come amid a noticeable warming in US-Pakistan relations, highlighted by high-level visits and new economic agreements. Earlier this month, Pakistan was entering a new phase in its economic and strategic partnership with the United States, as the two allies move closer to implementing a deal for the export of rare earth minerals. The improvement in ties gained momentum after Pakistan acknowledged President Donald J. Trump’s role in resolving a four-day escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbours Islamabad and New Delhi.
During the briefing, Rubio was also asked whether the recent improvement in ties between the United States and Pakistan was based on Islamabad’s “recognition of the US role and President [Donald Trump’s] role in resolving and in avoiding potential war between India and Pakistan?” “What do you think was the turning point?” a reporter asked him, according to the transcript. To that, Rubio began his response with, “I think they appreciated.” He then went on to say that “anytime you work with someone, you get to know them and you interact with them, and so I do think there was some sense of happiness about it. But even before that conflict had started, I had already reached out to them and said look, we are interested in rebuilding an alliance, a strategic partnership with you. We think there are things we can work together with them on.”
The Secretary of State reiterated that the United States was “fully aware of the challenges with regard to India and everything else, but our job is to try to create opportunities for partnerships with countries where it’s possible. And we’ve had a long history of partnering with Pakistan on counterterror and things of that nature. We’d like to expand it beyond that, if possible, understanding that there’ll be some difficulties and some challenges.” “But I think it’s a very encouraging thing that that relationship has strengthened the way that it has, and I don’t think it comes at the expense, or instead of a good relationship with India, or anybody else for that matter,” he added.
The thaw in relations has been marked by a series of high-profile engagements. In June, Pakistan’s chief of army staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, travelled to Washington on a five-day official visit, during which he met with President Trump over luncheon, becoming the first serving army chief to have a face-to-face meeting with a sitting US president. Field Marshal Munir returned to the United States in August, describing his second trip in a span of just a month and a half as a “new dimension” in ties between Washington and Islamabad.
In September, he accompanied Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session, where regional security and cooperation along the lines of counter-terrorism, among other matters, were discussed. Trump has publicly praised the Pakistani leaders for their diplomatic efforts. He has thanked both Prime Minister Shehbaz and “my favourite” Field Marshal Munir for their efforts in securing the ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Earlier today, the president called Prime Minister Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir “great people” while stating that he would get the recent conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan “solved very quickly.”
On the economic front, the renewed partnership has yielded concrete steps. In September, the American metals company US Strategic Metals (USSM) signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan to invest roughly $500 million to establish mineral processing and development facilities in the country. The company recently dispatched its first consignment of mineral samples to the United States to advance the deal.
The sample shipment, prepared locally in collaboration with the Frontier Works Organisation, includes antimony, copper concentrate, and rare earth elements such as neodymium and praseodymium. In a statement, USSM described the delivery as “a milestone in the Pakistan–US strategic partnership,” noting that the MoU “establishes a roadmap for cooperation across the entire mineral value chain — from exploration and processing to the establishment of refineries inside Pakistan.”
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