WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other top U.S. officials met with high-ranking Pakistani officials this week to strengthen ties with a particular focus on Pakistan's role in the stabilization of Afghanistan and the fight against global terrorism.
"We want to make sure that Pakistan is playing a constructive role in the region and is establishing an appropriate relationship with Afghanistan going forward," said State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley.
The White House said in a statement Wednesday that President Barack Obama and the Pakistani delegation "agreed on the need for regional stability and specifically on the importance of cooperating toward a peaceful and stable outcome in Afghanistan."
The president also announced that he will visit Pakistan next year -- his first trip to the country -- and that he invited Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari to Washington.
The three-day talks, led by Clinton and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, are part of the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, a diplomatic initiative launched in October 2009 with the goal of strengthening military and economic cooperation between the two countries.
The goal of the talks, Qureshi said Wednesday at the Brookings Institution, is a "long and mutually beneficial partnership."
Starting Wednesday, 13 working groups composed of American and Pakistani ministerial personnel have been engaged in discussions on water supply, agriculture, communications, energy and public diplomacy.
Defense and security matters are, of course, the center of the talks.
Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen met at the Pentagon with Pakistani Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, head of the Pakistan army.
"There's been a lot of work done between our Department of Defense and the government and military in Pakistan over what a military procurement strategy might look like to achieve our common objectives," said Frank Ruggiero, U.S. deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This week's diplomatic initiative comes at a crucial time in the U.S.-Pakistan relations. Sunday, the British newspaper The Guardian reported that David Headley, an American-Pakistan militant who took part in the 2008 terror attack on Mumbai, said that he received support from Pakistan's intelligence agency.
"We have cooperated extensively in investigating the tragic Mumbai attacks, including giving Indian officials access to Mr. Headley," Crowley said Monday.
Crowley acknowledged the progress Pakistan has made in fighting terrorism but said that "more needs to be done."
"We have been pressing Pakistan to take more aggressive action inside its borders to deal with a threat that is of concern to us, a concern to the region, and a threat to Pakistan itself," he said.
Qureshi said that his country "paid a huge price" to combat terrorism.
The minister called the American anti-terrorism efforts "our war" and said it is in Pakistan's interest to have a stable and peaceful Afghanistan.
"The U.S. and Pakistan are in the trenches together," he said.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center indicated that about 60 percent of Pakistanis consider the United States an enemy and only 8 percent of them said they believe that Obama will have a positive role in the international arena.
The partnership between the United States and Pakistan dates to the Bush administration. In 2004, the United States recognized Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally. In 2003, the United States granted Pakistan a $3 billion, five-year economic and military aid program.
Pakistan remains a key ally under the Obama administration. In October 2009, Congress passed the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act, which granted $1.5 billion annually in nonmilitary assistance to Pakistan for five years.
