President Bush has met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at the White House, and says the two countries are working closely to defeat terrorism.
Mr. Bush announced that he will be traveling to Pakistan and to India in March. The visit by Mr. Aziz comes at a time of friction between the two allies caused by a U.S. missile attack on a suspected al-Qaida meeting in rural Pakistan that killed about 18 people.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Aziz did not mention the air strikes, but stressed how they value the friendship between their two countries.
The U.S. Trade Representative Office also announced Tuesday that the U.S. has dropped a threat to cut off trade benefits for Pakistan because Islamabad has taken steps to crack down on the piracy of American movies, music and software.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
