ISLAMABAD: Pakistan valued its partnership with the United States and wished to expand it bilaterally as well as in terms of regional and international cooperation, said Foreign Office spokesperson on Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden has invited around 110 countries, including major Western allies but also Iraq, India, and Pakistan, to a virtual summit on democracy that is being held on December 9 and 10.

The summit aims to help stop democratic backsliding and the erosion of rights and freedoms worldwide. The list does not include China or Russia.

The FO spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad in a statement thanked the United States for inviting Pakistan for participation in the 'Summit for Democracy', being held virtually on 9-10 December 2021.

He said Pakistan was a large functional democracy with an independent judiciary, a vibrant civil society, and free media.

The statement said Pakistan was "in contact with the US on a range of issues and believes that we can engage on this subject at an opportune time in the future", without further elaborating on whether Pakistan would attend the summit or not.

“We remain deeply committed to further deepening democracy, fighting corruption, and protecting and promoting human rights of all citizens. In recent years, Pakistan has instituted wide-ranging reforms aimed at advancing these goals. These reforms have yielded positive results,” the spokesperson said.

“We value our partnership with the U.S. which we wish to expand both bilaterally as well as in terms of regional and international cooperation. We remain in contact with the U.S. on a range of issues and believe that we can engage on this subject at an opportune time in the future.”

"Pakistan will meanwhile, continue to support all efforts aimed towards strengthening dialogue, constructive engagement, and international cooperation for the advancement of our shared goals," he said.