Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on the phone to discuss ‘bilateral relations, regional security and economic cooperation’ on Monday.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dar ‘reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening its partnership’ with the US.

MoFA added that Rubio also expressed a desire to invest in Pakistan, particularly on minerals. The statement also said that Dar highlighted Pakistan’s efforts to fight terrorism, which was praised by Rubio. The latter also expressed a desire to enhance terrorism cooperation.

“The two leaders also discussed the situation in Afghanistan. Secretary Rubio agreed on the need to resolve the issue of US military equipment left behind in Afghanistan,” MoFA said.

While the statement issued by the State Department also mentioned cooperation on counterterrorism, the statement made no mention of the weapons in Afghanistan. However, it mentioned that, “The Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Dar underscored the importance of continued cooperation on counterterrorism.”

The State Department also said that Rubio discussed Pakistan’s cooperation in addressing illegal immigration.

“They discussed U.S. reciprocal tariffs on Pakistan and how to make progress toward a fair and balanced trade relationship,” the State Department added.

The two leaders had previously spoken when Pakistan handed over Sharifullah, an ISIS-K terrorist over to the US. Sharifullah had been involved in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing.