Pakistan-US relations set to enter new phase after ‘transformative' 2025, says envoy

• Sheikh notes cooperation continues in counterterror, health, education.
• Adds IT, minerals, energy, tourism are new partnership areas.
• Says focus now on people-to-people ties, lasting business links.

Pakistan-US relations are expected to strengthen further in the days ahead, Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, said, expressing optimism as the two countries enter the new year.

In a New Year 2026 message from Washington, the ambassador said 2025 carried a “transformative tenor” for Pak-US ties, with positive momentum witnessed across the bilateral relationship spanning nearly eight decades.

He said cooperation continued in existing areas such as counterterrorism, health and education. At the same time, both sides also identified new avenues to deepen engagement and move towards a more strategic, long-term partnership rooted in economic ties.

According to the ambassador, sectors including IT, minerals, energy, hospitality and tourism were identified as areas of “mutually rewarding, beneficial engagement” that could endure over time.

He noted that leadership-level contacts remained frequent throughout the year, helping sustain momentum in relations.

Looking ahead to 2026, Sheikh said there was a shared understanding on the importance of strong and strategic ties between Pakistan and the United States, describing them as “two densely populated mega countries of today and tomorrow.”

He stressed the need to take relations beyond policy discussions and translate this convergence of views into people-to-people contacts and stronger business relationships. 

While new areas of cooperation were identified in 2025, he said the next step was to move towards “calibrations and deliberations” to turn ideas into action.

The ambassador also extended New Year greetings to Pakistani Americans and the American nation, saying he hoped the year ahead would allow both countries to look back with “a lot of satisfaction” over tangible progress in bilateral relations.