Context
The new American strategy for Central and South Asia sees Pakistan as an important ally in a new Silk Road which connects these two regions, according to the State Department. Talking to reporters at the fourth core group summit this week in Islamabad, the department’s spokesperson Mark Toner said that the US considers Pakistan strategically important but urged the country to gel with the region’s economy. Toner also said that US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Mark Grossman discussed “regional economic development along the vision of the new Silk Road that Secretary Clinton laid out in Chennai” when he met with the core group. During last month’s trip to Chennai, Hillary Clinton had urged India to team up with other regional countries in reviving the Silk Route.
