June 11, 2021
Contact: Brittney Stewart
Phone: 021 3527 5000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. Embassy Chargé d’affaires a.i. Lesslie Viguerie visits Karachi to promote economic and military ties
Karachi: U.S. Embassy Chargé d’affaires a.i. Lesslie Viguerie visited Karachi June 7-9, where he met with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Pakistan Navy officials, and prominent business leaders and women entrepreneurs to promote and strengthen the many ties between the United States and Pakistan.
Chargé Viguerie commended Chief Minister Shah for his support of United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) projects in Sindh, which are aimed at strengthening the province’s education, health, and agricultural sectors through civilian assistance grants.
Chargé Viguerie affirmed the importance of the U.S.-Pakistan military relationship during his meeting with Rear Admiral Naveed Ashraf. Later, Chargé Viguerie took a deck tour of the USS Monterey, a U.S. Navy ship docked at Karachi Port. The USS Monterey visited Karachi to conduct extensive interoperability training and subject matter expert exchange with Pakistan Navy counterparts. U.S. officers and sailors were hosted for dinner aboard the Pakistan Navy Ship Aslat before cooperating in bilateral maritime security training at sea.
To further boost commercial ties between the United States and Pakistan, Chargé Viguerie met with members of the business community, including executives from the American Business Council, to discuss ways to support U.S. and Pakistani companies in key sectors including agriculture, information and communication technology, renewable energy, and LNG. Chargé Viguerie also engaged with prominent Pakistani businesswomen to understand opportunities and challenges facing women-led businesses and identify areas in which the U.S. government can better support their endeavors.
One of the highlights of Chargé Viguerie’s visit was the inauguration of a new U.S. government-funded high school in Karachi. The construction of this school is part of the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP), under which USAID is supporting the construction of 106 schools across 10 districts in Sindh. Through SBEP, USAID has invested $159.2 million (PKR 25 billion) in school construction in Sindh.
During his visit, Chargé Viguerie also paid his respects at the tomb of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
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