By promising to help Pakistan to overcome various challenges, the Obama administration expects to strengthen its strategic alliance with Islamabad in a bid to defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban militants.

The two countries have reaffirmed their commitment to a wide-ranging, long-term and substantive strategic partnership, based on mutual trust and respect. But is this "long-term" partnership just a temporary or war-time alliance?

Senior Pakistani officials and army officers came here for the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, the first ever at the ministerial level of both governments. The dialogue aims at broadening and deepening comprehensive cooperation between the United States and Pakistan.

According to a joint statement issued on Thursday, in the dialogue, the two sides discussed bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, energy, defense, security, strategic stability and non-proliferation, law enforcement and counter-terrorism, science and technology, education, agriculture, water, health, communications and public diplomacy.

Both sides admitted that a stable, enduring and broad-based cooperative partnership is "in the fundamental interest of both countries."

They voiced their satisfaction with the two-day dialogue, through which they might get what they want from the other side. However, it is interesting that they didn't elaborate on their concrete accomplishments.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton may have summarized the significance of the dialogue. "This is a new day. For the past year, the Obama administration has shown in our words and deeds a different approach and attitude toward Pakistan," she said.

President Barack Obama, in his Afghanistan-Pakistan policy speech delivered last December, said that an effective partnership with Islamabad is "inextricably linked" to U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. He added that the United States must strengthen Pakistan's civilian and military capacity.

According to Obama, in order to disrupt, dismantle and eventually defeat al-Qaeda and its extremist allies, and to prevent their return to Afghanistan or Pakistan, the United States must beef up military and civilian support to Afghanistan, and develop a partnership with Pakistan.