Publius Forum

Friday, February 26, 2010

U.S. looks forward to further progress on Coalition Support Fund payments

U.S. Embassy, Islamabad, Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (Feb. 26, 2010) – U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson today said that the United States looks forward to working closely with the Government of Pakistan to reconcile its outstanding claims for 2009 Coalition Support Funds (CSF). She noted that just this week the United States made a payment of $349 million to Pakistan for all validated claims from 2008.

The Coalition Support Fund was established by the United States in 2001 to support allies for some of the legitimate costs they incur in the fight against extremist violence. Payments to Pakistan slowed recently because of the inability of Embassy personnel who process the payments to obtain Pakistani visas and/or visa extensions.

“Prime Minister Gilani’s offer to work with the United States to establish a transparent process on visas that will enable us to undertake the full range of activities to support our strong bilateral relationship including reimbursing legitimate and verifiable claims was a positive development,” Ambassador Patterson said. “We look forward to the creation of a visa mechanism that will enable U.S. officials to do our jobs without interference.”

Source: US CENTCOM.

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