US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of State Ishaq Dar had a telephone conversation on Monday and agreed to resolve the question of Americans weapons left in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of August 2021.

The Foreign Office in Islamabad and the Department of State in Washington confirmed in their separate statements the first phone call between the two top diplomats in the two countries since President Donald Trump paid ED on January 20.

“Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar held a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio today (Monday),” a statement issued by the Foreign Office read here. The two leaders discussed bilateral relations, regional security and financial cooperation, added it.

During the call, Dar Pakistan’s obligation to strengthen his partnership with the United States repeated. He emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation in areas such as trade, investment and terrorism.

Secretary Rubio reciprocated the desire to cooperate with Pakistan in trade and investment in various sectors, especially critical minerals. He emphasized that cooperation in economy and trade would be characteristic of the future relations between the two countries, the Foreign Office said.

Dar highlighted Pakistan’s efforts to successfully fight terrorism during 2013-18, causing Pakistan’s enormous economic and human losses. Rubio also appreciated Pakistan’s efforts in the fight against terrorism and expressed the American desire to further improve CounterTerrorism cooperation, it added.

The declaration issued by spokesman for the Ministry of State Tammy Bruce in Washington stated that secretary Rubio emphasized the importance of Pakistan’s cooperation on law enforcement and addressing illegal immigration.

Rubio thanked Pakistan for the arrest and transferred to the United States Isis-K Operative Mohammad Sharifullah, the statement said, adding that both sides emphasized the importance of continued cooperation on terrorism.

“They discussed us mutual tariffs on Pakistan and how to make progress towards a fair and balanced trade relationship,” it added. “The secretary raised prospects of commitment to critical minerals and expressed interest in expanding the commercial opportunities for US companies.”

According to the state department, both of the top diplomats “looked forward to working together to tackle global challenges” during Pakistan’s two-year period as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, which began on 1 January.

The Foreign Office’s statement also said the two leaders discussed the situation in Afghanistan. Secretary Rubio agreed on the need to resolve the issue of US military equipment left in Afghanistan, it concluded.

President Trump has been critical of former President Joe Biden Administration’s Afghan strategy, especially the chaotic withdrawal. In particular, Trump has repeatedly criticized the defective policy of the bite, including US weapons left in the hands of terrorist groups.

Pakistan has also expressed concern that US weapons were used by terrorist groups.

According to the statement, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dar and State Secretary Rubio accepted to remain in close contact and to work together to promote the common interests of both countries.

The phone call was held right in front of the US delegation visit to Pakistan from Tuesday. An American interagency delegation would participate in Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum and hold bilateral meetings on a number of questions, including Counter Terrorism Cooperation.

The Ministry of State said on Sunday said the Senior Bureau Official (SBO) for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Eric Meyer, would lead an interagecy delegation to Islamabad from April 8 to 10, “to promote US interests in the critical mineral sector at Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum.”

Meyer would also meet with senior Pakistani officials to expand the possibilities of US companies in Pakistan and promote the elaboration of economic ties between the two countries and “emphasize the important importance of our continued cooperation on terrorism”.

Participation in the US delegation in the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum shows Washington’s interest in addition to security and terrorism cooperation. The delegation will also discuss the CounterTrorismism collaboration with Pakistan, according to the Ministry of State.

An American Congress Delegation, led by Congress Members Jack Bergman and Tom Suozzi, will also visit Pakistan from April 10 to April 15. The goal of the visit is to promote bilateral connections. During the visit, the delegation would hold conversations with senior Pakistani leaders about trade, defense and education.

The American delegation also meets with Pakistan’s top political and military leadership, leaders of various political parties. The delegation would also visit Azad Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Kartarpur corridor.

The visits to the US delegation as well as the recent phone call between Dar and Rubio came after a recent trip from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s most important foreign policy help to Washington. The visit was part of Pakistan’s efforts to reset the tape to the United States under the Trump administration.

Special assistant to Prime Minister Sayed Tariq Fatami was in the US capital and held a series of meetings with Trump administration’s officials and influential congressmen to open a sustained communication channel with the new administration.

Sources said the government decided to send Fatami to the United States to get a sense of the land situation in Trump’s priorities. Islamabad was bent by the fact that President Trump praised Islamabad to help the United States capture one of the most important facilitators of August 2021 Kabul Airport attack.