The US and Pakistan are seeking to meet the “tremendous potential” in their bilateral ties, Trump said Monday.
“PAKISTAN MAKE GREAT PRODUCT”
“We haven’t met the potential of either country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office while hosting Pakistani Premier Imran Khan. “I think the potential with Pakistan, and likewise the opposite way, we haven’t come close to meeting it.”
“To be honest, I think we have a better relationship with Pakistan right now than we did when we were paying that money,” said Trump, referring to the roughly $1 billion in security assistance to Pakistan he cut off last year, blaming Islamabad for not doing enough to fight extremism.
“WE CAN QUADRUPLE IT”
Trump and Khan agreed that economic engagement between the two countries would foster development in Pakistan as well as investment and jobs in the US. “Pakistan is a big country. It’s actually a very big country, and they have tremendous product. They make great product. They make tremendous — I’ve bought from Pakistan over the years when I was in the private sector. They make incredible product. They’re brilliant people. They’re hardworking people.” Trump said.
“I think we’re going to have a fantastic trade relationship. I don’t mean we’ll increase it by 20 percent. I mean, I think we can quadruple it. I think it could go — I mean, literally, it sounds crazy — you could go 10 times more. You could go 20 times more. Because what we do right now is not much, and we should do a lot.” he added.