In a message for the new year, His Excellency Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh spoke of 2025 as “a year that carried transformative tenor for Pakistan-U.S. relations.”
The Ambassador went on to emphasize long ongoing cooperation in various areas, including security matters, health, and education. He went on to add that 2025 resulted in the identification of “new areas of transforming our longstanding relationship [with the United States] into a strategic, long-term partnership entrenched in economic ties.
His Excellency, Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh went on to highlight different key sectors of economic cooperation, including, “IT, minerals, energy, hospitality, and tourism.” According to the Ambassador, strengthening economic ties across the aforementioned sectors is “mutually rewarding, beneficial engagement for both countries [Pakistan and the United States] that should survive the test of time.”
Beyond enhancing macro-level economic ties, in his address the Ambassador emphasized the importance of continuing to develop “people to people contacts.” The Ambassador also made clear the importance of turning “ideas into actions” in this new year.
The Ambassador also specifically recognized the Pakistani American community, wishing them, and all Americans, a happy new year. In closing, Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh noted his hope that by the end of 2026, “we will be able to review … with a lot of satisfaction in terms of taking important strides in our bilateral relations.”
His Excellency Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh followed up on this English language address with a press briefing live from the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C. on January 2, 2026, for Pakistani reporters based in the U.S. capital. In his press briefing, the Ambassador recounted the many accomplishments of the Embassy in furthering the strong Pakistan-U.S. relationship in 2025 and how these achievements will be built upon in 2026.
In his press briefing to members of the Pakistani media he addressed among other topics the importance of championing key industries such as the AI sector and the technology industry more broadly. Furthermore, the Ambassador underscored the importance of Pakistan’s geo-economic pivot, and its competitiveness in the global marketplace.
To watch His Excellency Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh’s full press briefing in Urdu, click here.
