US, urged,do, more,trade, with, Pakistan

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WASHINGTON: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has called for greater access for Pakistani products in the United States market as an effort to strengthen the South Asian country's economy. During talks with US officials as she continues her U.S. visit, Ms. Khar said that Pakistan was hopeful that at some point soon the two countries will negotiate a free-trade agreement that would open up both Pakistani and US markets to products made by the other. In the short term, the foreign minister added, Pakistan was urging the US to put together a trade package that would give greater access to Pakistani products now and thus strengthen the Pakistani economy. A democratic and economically viable Pakistan, she said, is the strongest weapon to defeat the terrorist threat in South and Central Asia. During her meetings, she expressed her satisfaction that the Pak-US bilateral relationship had weathered a very difficult period over the last 18 months, and that relations were clearly improving, laying the foundation for an even more robust special relationship between the two nations in the future.