SECRETARY KERRY: Well, welcome to the State Department. Welcome to the Ben Franklin Room.
We’re delighted to have you all here for a very important dialogue in an important
relationship. And Sartaj, thank you so much for coming here today to take part in the
U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, and I’m grateful for the level of expertise that is
represented here. We expect to have some frank and very important discussions. This is a
chance to reaffirm our commitment to a very strong bilateral, enduring relationship that
is, in the end, based on mutual respect but also on mutual interests.
Before we begin our dialogue, let me just take a minute to acknowledge the victory of
“A Girl in the River,” which won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject last night,
and directed by a Pakistani-Canadian. This film told the remarkable story of a very courageous
young woman who survived an attempt at an “honor killing” by her father and uncle.
And yet even more remarkable was after the initial screening, Prime Minister Sharif pledged
to change laws that allow such barbaric practices and murders – and that is a sign of how
a great work of cinema can shine light on a subject, on real-world challenges, and it
can actually promote positive change. So we gather for our dialogue in the shadow
of last month’s attack at the Bacha Khan University, and it took the lives of nearly
two dozen students, 17 students. As we said in the tragedy’s aftermath, the United States
condemns such a heinous act of terrorism, and we will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder
with Pakistan and the Pakistani people in their brave fight against violent extremism.
This latest assault really speaks to a larger point: there is a reason that the terrorists
targeted a university. It’s the same reason that they decided to murder children at the
Army Public School in Peshawar in December of 2014, and it’s why their gunmen shot
Malala Yousafzai on a school bus, and it’s why so many of their attacks are directed
against teachers and against students. Because these murderers want to halt Pakistan’s
future even before it begins. They’re against knowledge. They don’t want people to make
up their own minds or have the right and the ability to be able to learn, read history,
read literature, and be able to decide for themselves. They want to deprive young people
of Pakistan of the knowledge that they need to compete in a global economy and to build
a strong and prosperous and free society. So that is why it matters so much that Bacha
Khan University and the Army School have both re-opened and that Pakistanis have made it
clear they will not be intimidated or denied the right to build a future of their own design
and to sustain it for generations to come. In that effort, they can absolutely count
on the continued friendship and support of the United States.
Now, in the nearly seven decades since Pakistan achieved independence, it’s fair to say
that the ties between our countries have sometimes been strained. But we have always recovered,
because the people of Pakistan and the United States share a fundamental desire for stability,
the hope for peace, and support for regional and global economic development.
These shared interests led us in 2013 to reinvigorate our strategic dialogue, with a focus not only
on mutual security but also on strengthening democratic institutions and fostering long-term
economic growth. As we will discuss today, our nations are
committed to combatting terrorism wherever it is and whenever it endangers the lives
of innocent families and communities. As long as that threat remains, protecting our people
is going to be at the top of our agenda. Yet to reach its potential, we also have to
build a relationship that is multifaceted. We can and we should work together on a range
of shared priorities, including trade, investment, education and energy, law enforcement and
regional stability. Expanding and deepening our relationship has
long been a personal commitment of mine. I think you know that. In the Senate, I was
privileged to join with my colleague Dick Lugar and with Representative Howard Berman
in sponsoring a law that was aimed at lasting cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan
– between businesses and universities and citizens in addition to our governments. That’s
basically what friends do, and that’s what friendship means. It’s also what a good
bilateral relationship in a very complicated world means.
Now, our strategic dialogue is totally in keeping with this kind of broad-based partnership
and designed to advance it. And before we delve into greater detail throughout this
day, I want to highlight a couple of the essential areas in which our working groups are active.
On economic and financial issues, we have a joint plan to expand trade over five years
in a way that will help to make Pakistan’s markets more attractive to foreign investors.
As one aspect of this, we’re going to be partnering with the Pakistani Government to
expand women’s participation in the workplace. Because studies have repeatedly shown that
women, given the opportunity they deserve, help an economy to grow.
On regional security, we’re going to continue efforts to promote stability and defeat those
who foment extremism and violence. In this connection, the United States appreciates
Pakistan’s support for efforts to promote reconciliation with Afghanistan.
Cooperation along Pakistan’s borders is absolutely essential. We recognize the extraordinary
and real sacrifices that Pakistan’s military, especially in Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the
ongoing missions in North Waziristan, and the United States has pledged $250 million
to help rebuild the communities of persons who have been displaced by the fighting in
these operations. We’ll also continue to coordinate with Pakistan
on the overall counter-terrorist strategy, and we recognize that every country can do
more to intensify to destroy and defeat violent radical extremists.
We commend Pakistan for its whole-of-government approach to implement the National Action
Plan and eliminate the ability of militant groups to recruit, to finance, and to incite
violence. And we welcome Pakistan’s commitment not to differentiate between terrorist groups
in the implementation of this strategy – groups like the Haqqani Network and Lashkar-e-Tayyeba
that seek to undermine Pakistan’s efforts to foster strong, positive relations with
its neighbors. In the end, a group like the Haqqani group or Lashkar-e-Tayyeba or Jaish-e-Mohammad
– all of these groups are literally stealing the sovereignty of a nation. And they’re
stealing the future of a nation. And it is important for us to stand up to them.
On nonproliferation, nuclear safety is of obvious concern to both our countries, and
I expect that we will continue to discuss the obligations of being a responsible state
with nuclear weapons in the coming year. As you know, the United States of America once
had 50,000 warheads pointing at another country or entity, the Soviet Union. And the Soviet
Union had 50,000 pointing at us. And it took two presidents – President Gorbachev and
President Reagan – in a meeting to decide that that didn’t make sense. And we have
moved in the completely opposite direction. And today, Russia and the United States are
operating under a treaty that has about 1,500 or so nuclear warheads, and we are seeking
to reduce that. So we’re moving in the other direction. And I think it’s important for
Pakistan to really process that reality and put that front and center in its policy. And
we look forward to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s participation in the Nuclear Security Summit
next month. We’re also working together to make Pakistan’s
energy sector more market-based and its power supply more stable and sustainable. To date,
United States assistance has helped to add 1,750 megawatts to the country’s electric
grid, benefitting nearly 26 million Pakistanis. And through our new U.S.-Pakistan Clean Energy
Partnership, we hope – with help from the private sector – to add another 3,000 megawatts
from clean energy sources. Finally, perhaps no area of cooperation is
more critical to Pakistan’s long-term success than our cooperation in education, science,
and technology. On this front, our universities are collaborating on research and curriculum
development. And our countries’ experts are working together at the Centers for Advanced
Studies to spur innovation in water, in agriculture, and other sectors. And we’re also doubling
our joint funding for high-level R&D. And our nations are partners in the First Lady’s
“Let Girls Learn” initiative, and that is going to give an additional 200,000 Pakistani
girls a chance to enroll and stay in school. So it is fair to say that we have a very full
agenda here today and in the days ahead. It is defined by the immense challenges that
will shape the future of Pakistan and our relationship, but I want to emphasize these
are challenges that we can absolutely best meet working together.
As Prime Minister Sharif stated during his visit here last October: “A close and enduring
partnership between Pakistan and the U.S. is a strategic imperative for achieving lasting
peace and stability in our region and beyond.” And it’s in that spirit that I ask us today
to try to move our partnership forward in the months to come and pursue peace and prosperity
for both of our countries.