By Trevor Hunnicutt and Saeed Shah
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House on Thursday, a Trump administration official told Reuters on Wednesday, with the meeting coming weeks after the two countries agreed to a trade deal.
U.S.-Pakistan ties have warmed in recent months under Trump after Washington had for years viewed Pakistan’s rival India as a counter to China’s influence in Asia.
Washington’s relations with New Delhi have been tested under the Republican leader over issues like visa hurdles for Indians, high tariff rates imposed by Trump on goods from India and Trump’s repeated claims that he brokered an India-Pakistan ceasefire in May after the South Asian neighbors engaged in their latest hostilities.
The United States and Pakistan announced a trade deal on July 31 with a 19% tariff rate imposed by Washington. Trump is yet to reach a trade deal with India.
Officials and analysts have noted that after tensions with Washington, New Delhi is recalibrating relations with China as a hedge.
Trump has already hosted Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir earlier this year, marking the first time a U.S. president hosted the head of Pakistan’s army – widely regarded as the most powerful figure in the country – at the White House, unaccompanied by senior Pakistani civilian officials.
Pakistan has backed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, although Islamabad has condemned U.S. ally Israel’s bombardments in Gaza, Qatar and Iran.
Sharif was part of a meeting Trump had on Tuesday with leaders of many Muslim-majority countries where the U.S. president discussed Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Washington says the U.S. shared peace proposals with leaders from those countries in the meeting held on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Kanishka Singh and Saeed Shah; Editing by Ross Colvin, Kim Coghill and Diane Craft)
