Pakistan-US relations remain on a positive track, says Pakistan's Ambassador to Washington Jehangir Karamat. "Pakistan is close to negotiating a Bilateral Investment Treaty and there is a better understanding on trade issues between the two countries," Karamat said in an interview to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) in Washington. The ambassador said the World Bank and other financial institutions have been very supportive. He said the US media continues to project the earthquake donation sympathetically. "We were able to project our point of view on other issues. US Congress has been supportive, and our work with the US administration has been on a mutually cooperative note," he added. "We have had very good cooperation in the defense relationship," he said, adding that "we also made progress in diplomatic, political, economic, trade and media spheres." The ambassador said the focus should be on the overall state of the US-Pakistan relationship, rather than on specific issues. "There are excellent high-level visits to the US and from the US in 2005." He referred to President General Pervez Musharraf's visit to New York, and described it as "very successful." "As we start 2006, we can expect this exchange of bilateral visits to continue. We can also expect progress on pending issues and we should be able to move the relationship forward."
