LAHORE    -    US Consul General Lahore William K. Makaneole has said that Pakistan has been and continues to be a val­ued partner of the United States and his country looks forward to deepen­ing and expanding bilateral relation­ships over the coming years. During a four-day visit to districts of Pak­pattan, Sahiwal and Bahwalnagar, which concluded on Friday, he said, “Our governments have partnered on a range of issues and our people-to-people ties remain strong.” Dur­ing his visit, the US diplomat met local government representatives and members of the business com­munity to deepen robust partner­ship between the United States and Pakistan. He also visited the shrines of Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Tajuddin Chishti and the landmark Harappa Museum. Paying respects at the shrines of famous Sufi saints, Makaneole said, “These shrines sym­bolise diverse cultural, historical and religious heritage of Punjab and Pak­istan.” He said that founded in 2001, the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) preserves his­torical and cultural treasures under threat from environmental pres­sure or lack of resources. He said the AFCP had invested more than $7.6 million on 32 cultural preservation projects. The restored sites include Buddhist monasteries, Hindu monu­ments, Sufi shrines and relics of the Mughal empire. Consul General Makaneole also visited the Harappa Museum in Sahiwal, a noteworthy archaeological site. He emphasised that the United States is Pakistan’s largest bilateral export destination, noting that “In 2022, bilateral trade hit a record $9.9 billion, with Paki­stani exports to the United States reaching $6.8 billion.”

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