Hillary Clinton says she is satisfied with Pakistan visit

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* US secretary of state announces aid projects for Pakistan worth almost $500 million
* Congratulates Afghan president on major trade deal struck between Afghanistan and Pakistan

KABUL: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described as “very good” her two-day visit to Pakistan ahead of her arrival for an international conference in Afghan capital Kabul.

“All in all (it was) a very good visit,” she told journalists during the short flight between Islamabad and Kabul.

Clinton on Monday announced aid projects for Pakistan worth almost $500 million and focused on water and energy needs.

They were part of US efforts to deepen engagement with the Asian nuclear power and overcome rife anti-Americanism after years of perceived neglect of bilateral relations.

Opening talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Clinton hailed progress in bilateral ties and said she hoped the aid projects would “lay the foundations for an enduring partnership” with Pakistan.

They include two dams, various drinking water and irrigation projects, as well as the building of health centres and schemes to improve agriculture and private sector income.

They are part of a five-year 7.5-billion-dollar funding approved by the US Congress last year.

Clinton concluded her visit with closed-door discussions with army chief General Ashfaq Kayani on what she termed “the best means of achieving peace and stability” in Afghanistan.

Clinton said she and Kayani discussed Pakistan’s “request for excess defence assets, something that we think makes a lot of sense – how we can better exchange intelligence”.

“I understand the challenges they face,” she added.

Congratulations: Later, ahead of the international conference in Kabul, Clinton met Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The politicians dined together after Clinton had met the new commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus.

Clinton congratulated Karzai on a major trade deal struck between Afghanistan and Pakistan while the Afghan president underlined the pivotal role of the US in nailing down the pact, which had been decades in the making.

The conference, starting on Tuesday, aims to chart a future of peace and development for Afghanistan and show supporters the country is acting on past pledges.

“An enormous amount of... preparation has been done by the Afghans. They have a good team working on it,” Clinton said during her flight to Kabul.

“It’s going to be very substantive and demonstrate more Afghan leadership.” afp