The United States will soon allow direct flights to Pakistan.

A big breakthrough in Pakistan-US relations is expected after Joe Biden’s administration promised Pakistan that it is ready to take efforts to resume direct Pakistan International Airlines flights to the US.

According to a statement issued by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, Salman Sufi, Head of Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit, met with US high-ranking officials, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Bureau of South and Central Asia Elizabeth Horst at the US Department of State.

Sufi underlined Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s goal for strategic reforms and addressed measures to boost bilateral relations between the two countries during the discussion.

Sufi met with a delegation from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as part of PM Shehbaz’s reforms, and asked them to speed the process of resuming PIA direct flights from Pakistan to the US.

“The US side communicated its readiness to hold technical conversations with the Civil Aviation Authority and other relevant ministries, as well as to make the required visits to resume direct flights,” according to a statement.

According to Sufi, Federal Minister for Aviation Saad Rafique has been working for months to resume direct flights from the United States, and they hope that all preparations would be completed within the next six to nine months.

“We have also requested that the US Department of Agriculture assign an official at the US consulate in Karachi for pre-clearance and inspection of export commodities, since this process will save our traders time and money,” he added.