DAILY BRIEF NEWS UPDATE: 04.11.2011

US pledges financial aid for Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is pledging robust assistance to Pakistan despite demands on US finances and a sometimes rocky relationship with Islamabad, according to a status report on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The State Department report outlines US goals in the region more than a decade after the September, 11 terror attacks triggered the war against al-Qaeda and the progress after billions of dollars have been spent and American lives lost.
It also outlines the steps forward, looking ahead to the withdrawal of US combat forces by the end of 2014.
The report was delivered to Congress on Thursday. The Associated Press obtained a copy.
”Though a tremendous amount has been accomplished, we also have no illusions about the task before us,” the report said about Afghanistan.
”We expect that ongoing violence, lack of institutional and human capacity, discrimination against women and vulnerable groups, and Afghanistan’s incredibly low economic baseline will remain difficult challenges.”
The report said the US has reached its ”high water mark” for civilian funding and the government in Kabul must move toward establishing revenue sources.
The report said the US will build a foundation for the Afghans to assume responsibility for their future.
On Pakistan, the department said the relationship with Islamabad ”is not always easy, but it is vital to our national security and regional interests.”
The relationship has been extremely strained the last few months to the point of breaking.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently traveled to the region to pressure Pakistan to crack down on the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, a major threat to American forces in the region.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Pakistan’s intelligence agency was a ”veritable arm” of the Haqqani.
A low point came in May when US forces found and killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden deep inside Pakistan.
Still, the administration insisted it will continue to provide civilian aid to Pakistan, which has fallen from 1.5 billion dollars in the 2010 fiscal year to 1.1 billion dollars this year.
The report said next year’s levels are uncertain, but the administration reaffirms its ”commitment to providing robust, multiyear civilian assistant to Pakistan.”
Unclear is how much Congress will push to reduce funds for Pakistan as lawmakers consider spending bills for the State Department and foreign operations.
The report suggested that a low-cost route toward improving stability in the region would be expanding US market access for both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The department said it was seeking congressional authorization for creating a US-Pakistan Enterprise Fund, similar to funds created in Eastern Europe and with the former Soviet states in the 1990s.

UAE expo in Karachi from 30^th

KARACHI, Nov 3: Tariq Puri, chief executive, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, has extended full support to United Arab Emirates (UAE) in holding the first-ever UAE`s “Magnificent 7” expo at Karachi Expo Centre from Nov 30 to Dec 2.This transpired during a meeting with Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister for Foreign Trade UAE, on the occasion of Rice International Conference and Exhibition currently being held in Dubai where TDAP has set up Pakistan pavilion.

Mr Puri briefed the minister about the TDAP`s proposal for establishment of Pakistan`s display and exhibition centre at Sharjah for which UAE government is supporting the authority.
The UAE minister appreciated the proposal and stated that the establishment of display centre would help boost marketing efforts for Pakistan`s products as it would work as a platform for reaching out a large number of foreign buyers.
According to a message received here on Thursday, Shaikha Lubna proposed that the agreement on Pakistan`s display and exhibition centre could be singed during the upcoming UAE expo in Karachi where both the ministers of trade and commerce would be present.
Tariq Puri informed the UAE minister that the TDAP had set up a pavilion in the Rice Expo and 11 top rice exporters are participating in the event and five other exporters have set up their stalls on their own which is the largest presence of any country in the event.

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