Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif, Asim Munir flash rare earth minerals at White House | World News

US President Donald Trump met Pakan’s Prime Miner Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir at the White House on Thursday, where the Pakani side presented rare earth minerals during talks.
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A photograph released the White House showed Trump looking at an open wooden box of minerals as Munir pointed to the display, while Sharif stood near. Sharif is the first Pakani prime miner to visit the White House in six years.

The meeting lasted about 90 minutes and was also attended US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

According to a statement from Sharif’s office, the prime miner described Trump as a “man of peace” for what he called his “sincere efforts” to end global conflicts. He also thanked Trump for a tariff deal reached in July, under which Pakani imports face a 19% tariff, while Washington will ass in developing Pakan’s oil reserves.

Sharif said he believed the Pakan-US partnership would be “further strengthened to the mutual benefit of both countries.” He also invited American companies to invest in Pakan’s agriculture, IT, minerals and energy sectors, his office said.

The visit comes as relations between Washington and Islamabad have improved after years of strain.

Pakan has been seeking American investment in its mineral sector. Earlier this month, Pakan’s Frontier Works Organisation signed an agreement with Missouri-based US Strategic Metals to establish a poly-metallic refinery in Pakan. A second deal was signed between Pakan’s National Logics Corp and Portugal’s Mota-Engil Group, an engineering and construction company.

Sharif’s office said the agreements would allow both sides to expand cooperation in copper, gold, rare earths and other minerals. The statement added: “The partnership will begin immediately with the export of readily available minerals from Pakan, including antimony, copper, gold, tungsten, and rare earth elements.”

Sharif has said this year that Pakan holds mineral reserves worth trillions of dollars and that foreign investment in mining could help the country reduce its debt burden.

Most of Pakan’s reserves are in Balochan province, which has faced separat violence. In August, the US State Department designated the Balochan National Army and its Majeed Brigade as a foreign terror organisation, complicating resource extraction in the region.

(With inputs from agencies)