Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif attended a reception hosted by US President Joe Biden in honour of the heads of government participating in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session.
During the event, Prime Minister Sharif met with President Biden, and both leaders exchanged good wishes for each other. The reception also saw the participation of heads of state from various countries.
The reception, held on the sidelines of the UNGA session, provided an opportunity for leaders to engage in informal discussions and strengthen diplomatic ties.
This was the first interaction between the US president and the Pakistani prime minister. Since being elected as the US president, Biden has not spoken to either former Prime Minister Imran Khan or his successor Shehbaz Sharif.
The meeting despite being informal will be significant given the fact that the Biden administration during Imran’s government largely ignored Pakistan.
But since the change of government, there has been a flurry of engagements between the two countries. A senior adviser of the US Secretary of State recently visited Pakistan while the Biden administration also approved the $450 million sale of F-16 equipment to Pakistan.
