Tales from the Trail

Hillary Clinton has lots to worry about in Pakistan, but she has found one thing she can wholeheartedly embrace: Pakistani mangos.

The U.S. Secretary of State was treated to a mango dessert during dinner with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and they clearly won a fan — Clinton repeatedly raved about the fruit.

“We’ll get a lot of people hooked on Pakistani mangos,” Clinton told a “townhall”-style meeting in Islamabad, where she was on an official visit.

Mangos came up again at a press conference with Pakistan’s foreign minister, and yet again at a roundtable with Pakistani journalists.

Mangos Mangos Mangos.

Clinton suggested mangos might be one place to start when discussing benefits of better trade cooperation, including Pakistani requests for improved market access.

The fruit provided a sweet note to talks which otherwise focused on the hard details of the US-Pak relationship, which is increasingly under pressure amid the unfolding war in neighboring Afghanistan.

Next stop, Afghanistan, famed for its pomegranates (and opium).

Photo credit: Reuters/Adrees Latif (Clinton stands next to Pakistani flag)