ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan has sought enhanced economic ties between Pakistan and Washington State.

He was talking to Governor Danny Heck during his visit to the capital of Washington State. Masood Khan said Pakistan and the United States enjoy a unique equation that had withstood test of times, says a press release received here on Friday from Washington State.

He said United States has remained the leading development partner of Pakistan for past 75 years. Our shared values and objectives provide strong underpinnings for forging robust partnerships in all domains and working together for regional and global peace and socio-economic development.

Referring to the recent floods in Pakistan and generous support provided by the US, especially an additional $100 million during the recently held International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva, the Ambassador thanked US and its citizenry for always standing beside people of Pakistan at every hour of need.

Noting impressive annual growth of Washington with GDP exceeding $600 bln, Masood Khan said that a strong economy and presence of world’s leading business conglomerates in Washington provided an ideal ground for fertile minds and booming businesses of Pakistan for forging mutually beneficial economic partnerships.

He identified agriculture, manufacturing, IT and telecom, biotechnology, tourism and clean green infrastructure as some of the critical areas where there existed huge scope for building strong partnerships. Masood Khan said the existing trade volume between the two countries is far below the actual potential and can be enhanced with targeted approach in critical sectors.

Welcoming the Ambassador to Washington State, Danny Heck said Pakistan is an important ally of the United States and the two countries have a longstanding relationship. He said Washington is the most trade driven economy of the United States and a strong partnership between Pakistan and Washington would be instrumental in enhancing bilateral trade volume manifold.

Earlier, Ambassador Masood Khan visited the Microsoft Headquarters and was received by Fatima Kardar, Vice President, COO and Chief Technical Advisor to CTO along with other Pakistani-American executives working in Microsoft. The Ambassador was informed that around 500 Pakistanis were working in Microsoft and were passionately working to see a Microsoft development center in Pakistan.

Discussing the ongoing cooperation between Microsoft and Pakistan, Masood Khan said that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan and Microsoft had signed Education Transformation Agreement (ETA) in December 2022 with the announcement of the Imagine Cup Initiative and 100,000+ free Technology certifications for university students across Pakistan.

He added that Microsoft and HEC collaboration would help the education landscape, empower next generation of students and would bridge the gap between knowledge and employability. The Ambassador, on the occasion, thanked Bill Gates and Gates Foundation for their continued support in education and Polio eradication from Pakistan.