US, Pakistan reaffirm partnership

The United States and Pakistan have reaffirmed their commitment to a wide-ranging, long-term and substantive strategic partnership based on mutual trust and mutual respect.

It follows the first ever ministerial level US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, co-chaired in Washington by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistan Foreign Minister Mehmood Qureshi.

The Obama administration is promising to help Pakistan address pressing energy, water and economic crises, back broader economic reforms necessary to put Pakistan on a path toward sustainable growth.

The US also pledged to help Pakistan build on its success against militants in an effort to eliminate extremist sanctuaries in the country.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, accompanied by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, gestures during the opening session of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, March 24, 2010, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)