Attempts were made to enhance diplomatic relations with the United States, however as the time passed, Gillani's relations with the United States became somewhat troubled, although United States maintained farewell relations with him.
On multiple occasions, he countered the US pressure and backed the military efforts to curbed down the militancy in the region.
After receiving heated criticism, Gilani repudiated the US claims that his country was falling short on fighting the war on terrorism.
Gilani countered the claims on CNN and maintained that: "If there is any credible, actionable information, please share with us, because are already working with you; my ISI is working with the American CIA.
What else do you want?".

The United States is into the election year and (President) Obama's decision has been aimed at gaining political mileage... President Barack Obama is using drone strikes in Pakistan tribal regions for political motives
— Yousaf Raza Gillani, 2012, Cited source
In 2011, the relations with United States suffered a major set back and resentment when the United States unilaterally conducted a secret offence (see: Neptune Spear) in Abbottabad, which resulted in successful execution of Usama Bin Laden.
Immediately after learning the news, Gillani and President Zardari chaired a high level meeting with the senior military leadership in Islamabad.
Gillani reportedly announced that: "We will not allow our soil to be used against any other country for terrorism and therefore, I think it's a great victory, it's a success and I congratulate the success of this operation."
Later Gilani blamed the world for their failure to capture bin Laden.
The relationship between Pakistan and the United States fell to a new low following the Salala Incident, with his government and the elite Pakistani military establishment reassessing their diplomatic, political, military and intelligence relationship with the United States.

All major NATO supply lines were immediately closed leaving the blockaded supply trucks vulnerable to attacks.
On 26 November 2011, Gillani's government ordered the US to shut down and vacate the PAF Base Shamsi in the southwestern Balochistan province within a deadline of 15 days.
On 10 December, the troops from the Frontier Corps took full control of the air force base as scheduled, and by 11 December all remaining American staff were evacuated.

Prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani informed the cabinet that Pakistan was at a critical juncture in its relationship with the US and NATO and it was time to make some important decisions.
"Decisions regarding ties with the US and NATO will be made in the national interest."
In December 2011, Gillani reportedly told the BBC interviewer that "his country does not trust the United States, and the feeling is mutual".
Although, he did goaded that relations were important and maintained: "We are working together and still we don't trust each other... we should have more confidence in each other..".

The relations with Russia were pushed to level of intensity of bilateral relations, which he termed it as "New Momentum".
In 2012, Gillani publicly greets Vladimir Putin for successfully contesting in Russian presidential elections.

In 2011, Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and Russian Prime minister (now President) Vladimir Putin held a frank discussion in a cordial atmosphere on 10th Heads of Government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Gilani successfully convinced Russia finance and invest in the large energy projects including Central Asia-South Asia 1000 (CASA-1000) to allow the international transition of the power generation from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan.
Russia has provided US$500 million for the CASA-1000 for the power transmission project.
In 2011, both countries initiated the work on the framework n the proposed Free Trade Agreement and currency swap arrangement to boost bilateral trade and further strengthen their economic ties.
On 4 March 2012, only few hours being re-elected, Gilani telephoned Putin and greeted him on h
Attempts were made to enhance diplomatic relations with the United States, however as the time passed, Gillani's relations with the United States became somewhat troubled, although United States maintained farewell relations with him. On multiple occasions, he countered the US pressure and backed the military efforts to curbed down the militancy in the region. After receiving heated criticism, Gilani repudiated the US claims that his country was falling short on fighting the war on terrorism. Gilani countered the claims on CNN and maintained that: "If there is any credible, actionable information, please share with us, because are already working with you; my ISI is working with the American CIA. What else do you want?".
The United States is into the election year and (President) Obama's decision has been aimed at gaining political mileage... President Barack Obama is using drone strikes in Pakistan tribal regions for political motives
— Yousaf Raza Gillani, 2012, Cited source
In 2011, the relations with United States suffered a major set back and resentment when the United States unilaterally conducted a secret offence (see: Neptune Spear) in Abbottabad, which resulted in successful execution of Usama Bin Laden. Immediately after learning the news, Gillani and President Zardari chaired a high level meeting with the senior military leadership in Islamabad. Gillani reportedly announced that: "We will not allow our soil to be used against any other country for terrorism and therefore, I think it's a great victory, it's a success and I congratulate the success of this operation." Later Gilani blamed the world for their failure to capture bin Laden. The relationship between Pakistan and the United States fell to a new low following the Salala Incident, with his government and the elite Pakistani military establishment reassessing their diplomatic, political, military and intelligence relationship with the United States.
All major NATO supply lines were immediately closed leaving the blockaded supply trucks vulnerable to attacks. On 26 November 2011, Gillani's government ordered the US to shut down and vacate the PAF Base Shamsi in the southwestern Balochistan province within a deadline of 15 days. On 10 December, the troops from the Frontier Corps took full control of the air force base as scheduled, and by 11 December all remaining American staff were evacuated.
Prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani informed the cabinet that Pakistan was at a critical juncture in its relationship with the US and NATO and it was time to make some important decisions."Decisions regarding ties with the US and NATO will be made in the national interest." In December 2011, Gillani reportedly told the BBC interviewer that "his country does not trust the United States, and the feeling is mutual". Although, he did goaded that relations were important and maintained: "We are working together and still we don't trust each other... we should have more confidence in each other..".
The relations with Russia were pushed to level of intensity of bilateral relations, which he termed it as "New Momentum". In 2012, Gillani publicly greets Vladimir Putin for successfully contesting in Russian presidential elections.
In 2011, Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and Russian Prime minister (now President) Vladimir Putin held a frank discussion in a cordial atmosphere on 10th Heads of Government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Gilani successfully convinced Russia finance and invest in the large energy projects including Central Asia-South Asia 1000 (CASA-1000) to allow the international transition of the power generation from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan. Russia has provided US$500 million for the CASA-1000 for the power transmission project. In 2011, both countries initiated the work on the framework n the proposed Free Trade Agreement and currency swap arrangement to boost bilateral trade and further strengthen their economic ties. On 4 March 2012, only few hours being re-elected, Gilani telephoned Putin and greeted him on h
Yousaf Raza Gillani