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International development experts share their ideas on how wealthy countries can promote prosperity in developing countries. Follow at cgdev.org/cgd-podcast.

Jan 18, 2012

U.S. - Pakistan relations, troubled in the best of times, have been unusually rocky of late. A recent cover story in The Atlantic dubbed Pakistan the “Ally from Hell.” CGD’s Study Group on the U.S. Development Strategy in Pakistan argues that the strong U.S. interest in a stable, prosperous Pakistan makes savvy U.S. support for development there more important than ever. In this week’s wonkcast, post-doctoral research fellow Milan Vaishnav and policy analyst Danny Cutherell discuss the recent upsets in U.S.-Pakistan relations and offer practical suggestions, drawn from the CGD Study Group’s report and a recent open letter from CGD president Nancy Birdsall to deputy secretary of state Thomas Nides, which focuses on U.S. support for private sector growth in Pakistan.

Milan and Danny say that little progress has been made in improving the U.S. policy stance towards Pakistan since the Study Group issued its report last June. In fact, the death last year of Ambassador Richard Holbroock, the U.S. special envoy to Pakistan, left it unclear who is in charge of U.S. development strategy in Pakistan, a question Nancy raises in her most recent open letter. Meanwhile, events in Pakistan have soured the view in Congress.

Read a full show summary on the Wonkcast site: cgdev.org/wonkcast.