The third round of US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue will be held in Washington on October 22, special Af-Pak envoy Richard Holbrooke said on Monday as he lauded international efforts, especially by India, in providing support to Pakistan flood victims.
"Pakistan is the only country in the world in which Secretary of State (Hillary) Clinton will have chaired three strategic dialogues in six months: in March in Washington, July co-chaired in Islamabad, and next month in Washington again," Holbrooke, Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, told reporters during a teleconference with the USAID Administrator Raj Shah.
Holbrooke asserted that Pakistan is getting highest level of attention from Washington after Afghanistan. "So the amount of attention Pakistan's getting from the highest levels of the US government is unmatched by any other country in the world, with the obvious exception of Afghanistan."
Holbrooke, who returned from Pakistan after assessing the severity of devastating floods there, and expressed his satisfaction the response from the international community, especially India. "I would draw your attention to the fact that India has given US $ 25 million to the effort through the United Nations," he said, adding that "US $ 500,000 has already been raised by Pakistan Relief Fund, the one Secretary (of State, Hillary) Clinton called for."
He also lauded "a great deal" of efforts by Pakistani-American diaspora and multinational consumer products firm Proctor and Gamble in providing aid to the flood victims. "The Chinese have made a very strong commitment, in public," he added.
Meanwhile, the envoy said the priorities for US aid to Pakistan under the Kerry Lugar Bill will be examined in conjunction with the Pakistani government."As we emerge from the early recovery phase, how can we tell what Pakistan's priorities are now, when one-fifth of the country is still underwater or just beginning to emerge from the floods? This is a very, very difficult issue...I remind you again of how difficult it was for us in a much smaller area, in New Orleans five years ago, and how, on the fifth anniversary a few weeks ago, people were reporting about, still, things in -- not complete."
The US has so far contributed US $ 345 million for the flood relief efforts. "It is quite clear going forward that agriculture will be one of the major priorities," USAID chief Shah said. "More than a quarter of total crop land and nearly a third of the productive capacity of Pakistan's agriculture has been severely affected."
In many cases crops, livestock, feedstock and land are completely washed out, he said.
"So the Pakistani government, working with the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the US and a number of others, are putting in place significant efforts to support an early recovery strategy in agriculture, including widespread distribution of seed and other farm implements, and helping farmers, as they go back to their lands, to have a successful planting season," Shah added.
