Abbas Hashmi /DNA

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League chief organizer and vice president Maryam Nawaz Sharif met with the US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Bloom Sunday.

During the meeting, both sides discussed importance of historical and bilateral relations between both countries.

During the meeting, both sides stressed for promoting mutual cooperation including trade, economy, security, peace and regional stability was also emphasized.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif also appreciated the efforts made by the American government during the most difficult conditions of COVID-19 pandemic and floods.

Earlier, Pakistan, USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman announced $16.4 million in additional development and humanitarian assistance to support the resilience of communities in Pakistan that experienced 2022’s historically severe floods, which impacted an estimated 33 million people and had a devastating impact on infrastructure, crops, livelihoods, and livestock throughout the country.

This new funding will reach over 20 million flood-affected individuals to assist in their recovery, risk reduction, and resilience.

The assistance will address worsening food insecurity and malnutrition and help curb the spread of disease.

In addition, this funding will support humanitarian partners to provide nutritious food to mothers and their children, help families rebuild local infrastructure to protect them from future disasters, and increase protection services to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors.

Following severe monsoon rains and resultant floods in Pakistan during mid-2022, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team to lead the U.S. humanitarian response and rapidly provide aid to affected communities.

This included working with partners to quickly scale-up vital humanitarian assistance, including through partnering with the U.S. Department of Defense to successfully complete an air bridge that delivered nearly 630 metric tons of life-saving relief commodities to Pakistan.