For more than 60 years, the United States and Pakistan have worked together to forge a relationship that benefits the people of both countries. This cooperation has produced transformative ideas and institutions that are still considered landmark accomplishments for Pakistan.
In 1947, the United States was one of the first countries to recognize an independent Pakistan and to extend considerable assistance for the establishment of key institutions. With U.S. support, Pakistan was able to undertake many notable development projects, such as the Institute for Business Administration, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, the Indus Basin Project, Faisalabad Agricultural Institute, and a variety of other efforts that laid the path for Pakistan’s Green Revolution.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States was a major donor for the construction of the Mangla and Tarbela dams, which at the time of their completion accounted for 70 percent of the country’s power output. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the United States helped build the Guddu Power Station in Sindh and the Lahore University for Management Sciences, which is now considered to be one of the nation’s top business schools.
More recently, U.S. civilian assistance to Pakistan has delivered real results on issues of greatest importance to all Pakistanis: energy, economic growth, stability, education, and health. In addition, when natural or manmade disasters threaten Pakistan, the United States has been quick to respond. Over the past decade, the United States, through USAID, has given Pakistan nearly $7.7 billion of funding. Pakistan remains one of America’s largest recipients of foreign assistance, a sign of our long-term partnership and commitment.
