ISLAMABAD: US Chargé d’Affaires in Pakistan, Natalie A Baker, has said that Pakistan is a free country and should not fall into any nation’s debt trap. She stressed that Pakistan must fully implement its privatisation programme.
Speaking informally to reporters at the Presidency, Natalie A Baker said that Pakistan’s economic strategy will succeed only through complete implementation of the IMF’s reform programme.
She added that the IMF wants economic reforms in Pakistan that will help build a stronger and more sustainable economy, and that the World Bank is also cooperating effectively with Pakistan.
She said she has visited different cities in Pakistan but has not yet gone to Azad Kashmir, and she wishes to go there. She added that US–Pakistan cooperation in the economic sector is already progressing well. Pakistan’s sovereignty is very important to the United States, and the U.S. is sincerely supporting Pakistan.
Responding to a question about Pakistan’s close ties with China, she said that Pakistan is a free and sovereign country that can maintain relations with any nation.
However, it must protect its economic sovereignty and interests carefully. Any project that leads a country into a debt trap is a matter of concern for the entire world.
Natalie A Baker further said that Washington fully understands the sensitive nature of Pakistan–China relations.
She added that President Donald Trump will visit Pakistan as soon as he finds time from his international responsibilities, a visit that is expected soon. She said President Trump is a promoter of peace, and Pakistan has rightly nominated him for the Nobel Prize.
