2 women making heart sign with their hands while standing outside (State Dept.)
Farwa Manekia (right), of Pakistan, visited Michigan in 2010 as part of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study Abroad program. Pakistanis make up the largest alumni group of U.S. government exchange programs. (State Dept.)

The United States and Pakistan share a partnership that dates back to Pakistan’s founding as a nation in 1947.

Here’s a look back at some of the highlights of diplomatic relations and friendship over the last 75 years.

Harry Truman smiling and gesturing with Pakistani Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan (Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum)
(Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum)

The United States became one of the first countries to recognize Pakistan when on August 14, 1947, President Harry S. Truman sent a congratulatory message to Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Truman called Jinnah “the originator of the dream that became Pakistan.” Formal diplomatic relations were established the next day. Above, Truman (left) and Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan of Pakistan (center) meet in Washington May 3, 1950, during Khan’s visit to the United States.

2 women sitting on camel surrounded by men (© AP Images)
(© AP Images)

Jacqueline Kennedy’s 1962 trip to Pakistan was the first time a U.S. president’s wife visited the country. She visited Mughal heritage sites in Lahore and traveled to the Khyber Pass on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Above, Kennedy (right) rides a camel with her sister, Lee Radziwill.

Worker squatting near intake tunnels of dam under construction (© AP Images)
(© AP Images)

In the 1960s, the U.S. government helped fund the construction of the Mangla and Tarbela dams, providing electricity to the country. Above, a Pakistani laborer working on the Mangla Dam project in 1963 takes a break. Later, the U.S. helped build the Gomal Zam Dam.

People listening to musicians (© Bettmann/Getty Images)
(© Bettmann/Getty Images)

During his first year in office, President Richard Nixon traveled to Pakistan with his wife Pat. The president said the Pakistani hospitality “cannot be exceeded by any people in the world.” Above, the first lady listens to a Qawwali band during her visit to a Pakistani school August 1, 1969.

Jimmy Carter listening to man speak while others stand behind them (© Wally McNamee/Corbis/Getty Images)
(© Wally McNamee/Corbis/Getty Images)

Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq (left) speaks after an October 3, 1980, White House meeting with President Jimmy Carter and National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski (second row, center). “The people of the United States have the greatest admiration for the courage of the people and the leaders of the great nation of Pakistan,” Carter said.

President George W. Bush smiling while surrounded by young cricket players (© Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
(© Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

President George W. Bush (center) and Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shahryar Khan (second from right) gather with young cricket players during a cricket demonstration March 4, 2006, at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.

People carrying bags out of helicopter (U.S. Marine Corps)
(U.S. Marine Corps)

When monsoon rains in 2010 caused heavy flooding in many areas of Pakistan affecting millions, the U.S. responded. Above, U.S. Marines help Pakistani civilians unload relief supplies from a helicopter August 18, 2010, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan.

Vice President Joe Biden and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari reaching out to shake hands (© B.K. Bangash/AP Images)
(© B.K. Bangash/AP Images)

Vice President Joe Biden (left) meets with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidential Palace in Islamabad January 12, 2011. Biden called the U.S.-Pakistan relationship “absolutely vital.”

People standing and sitting inside shrine (U.S. Embassy Islamabad/Imran Babur)
(U.S. Embassy Islamabad/Imran Babur)

The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan and the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation have helped restore 31 historic sites, some dating back 2,000 years. Restored buildings include Buddhist monasteries, Hindu monuments, relics of the Mughal Empire and the Hazrat Khwaja Ghulam Farid shrine in Kot Mithan in Punjab (shown above).

Journalists holding microphones toward President Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (© Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Images)
(© Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Images)

President Barack Obama (second from left) stressed cooperation “not just on security matters, but also on economic and scientific and educational affairs,” when he met Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif October 22, 2015, in the White House.

Men standing with boxes containing COVID-19 vaccines (U.S. Government)
(U.S. Government)

The U.S. government is donating 61.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and 16 million doses of pediatric vaccines to support Pakistan’s fight against the virus. In July 2022, the two nations launched the U.S.-Pakistan Health Dialogue to strengthen cooperation.

Group of people smiling and posing for photo (PUAN/Sajjad Al)
(PUAN/Sajjad Al)

More than 37,000 Pakistanis are alumni of U.S. government exchange programs, the largest such alumni group in the world. Above, some alumni of these exchange programs met with public and private-sector leaders July 16 during a reunion of the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network’s (PUAN) Gilgit Chapter in northern Pakistan.

Antony Blinken shaking hands with Pakistani foreign minister (State Dept./Freddie Everett)
(State Dept./Freddie Everett)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari discussed expanding the partnership in climate, investment, trade and people-to-people ties during their first face-to-face meeting May 18, 2022, in New York. The secretary called the meeting “an important opportunity for us to talk about the many issues where we’re working together.”