US,Pakistan to resume talks on security issues

Im pleased to announce that today,very quickly,we were able to agree to a resumption of the strategic dialogue in order to foster a deeper,broader and more comprehensive partnership between our countries, Kerry said at a press conference with Aziz in Islamabad.

He said the talks will cover all of the key issues between us,from border management to counter-terrorism to promoting US private investment and Pakistans own journey to economic revitalization.

The US and Pakistan launched high-level talks on a wide swath of security and development programmes in 2010. But talks stalled in November 2011 after US airstrikes on a Pakistani post on the Afghan border accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Even before that,the relationship was severely damaged by a variety of incidents,including the covert US raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad.

The resumption of the strategic dialogue indicates that the relationship between the two countries has improved since that low point. But there is still significant tension and mistrust between the two countries,especially regarding drone strikes and Pakistans alleged ties with Taliban militants using its territory to launch cross-border attacks against American troops in Afghanistan.

It is also no secret that along this journey in the last few years weve experienced a few differences, Kerry said.

While this is Kerrys first visit to Islamabad as secretary of state,he has a long history of dealing with Pakistan as former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sharif described him as a wonderful friend,and Kerry said,I have had the pleasure of visiting Sharifs home and having a number of meals with him.

Before heading into a meeting,Sharif asked Kerry about his wife,Teresa Heinz Kerry,who was hospitalized after a seizure last month. Shes doing better, Kerry said.