WASHINGTON (Oct. 20, 2010) — Senior U.S. and Pakistani officials are preparing for the third round of the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue in Washington October 20–22, and the talks, which cover a wide variety of topics ranging from health and energy to defense cooperation, are expected to include a special focus on Pakistan’s flooding disaster, according to a State Department official.

The U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the Pakistani delegation, led by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, previously met in Islamabad in July and in Washington in March. During their upcoming talks, ―one of the primary areas of discussion will be on the response to the floods that just occurred,‖ said Frank Ruggiero, deputy director in the Office of the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Flooding that began in late July has caused what U.S. officials say is the largest humanitarian crisis the international community has ever confronted, with 21 million people affected and one-fifth of Pakistan under water at one point. So far, the Obama administration has provided $390 million in immediate relief and recovery efforts for Pakistan, as well as in-kind and technical assistance, such as the use of 26 U.S. helicopters, Ruggiero told reporters at the State Department October 19.

Those helicopters have rescued more than 23,000 people and delivered more than 16 million pounds (7.26 million kilos) of refugee supplies.

"We continue to work very closely with the government of Pakistan, its civil and military leadership, on responding to the floods. And this is really just another example, our reaction and response to the floods, of the strategic nature of the relationship with Pakistan," he said.

The United States views the strategic dialogue as "a mechanism to strengthen the bilateral relationship," Ruggiero said. The talks focus on "shared values, common objectives and mutual respect and trust between the two countries."

During the three days of discussions, 13 working groups will discuss cooperation in areas including water management, health, agriculture, education, economics and finance, energy, science and technology, communications, women’s issues, law enforcement and defense.

At the conclusion of the strategic dialogue discussions in July, Clinton announced more than $500 million in U.S. assistance projects for Pakistan, including funds for improving health and medical facilities, water management and distribution, farm productivity and agricultural marketing opportunities, energy and gender equality.

Ruggiero said that during the upcoming round of the dialogue, "we’ll be looking at the implementation of those pledges that the secretary made in July."

However, he acknowledged that "some of the projects that were announced or were being worked on were wiped away by the floods," which killed 1,800 people and destroyed more than a quarter of Pakistan’s cropland. The flooding has affected more people than the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami combined, Clinton has said.

Relations between Pakistan and the United States are "coming through a period of tension," Ruggiero said, and the dialogue "provides a venue to really exchange views with the Pakistanis on a strategic level and to move beyond these tensions in the relationship."

Both Clinton and Qureshi are "personally invested" in the talks and the goal of redefining the relationship "into a mature, sustained, long-term economic and political partnership," Ruggiero said.

The Obama administration is also supporting Pakistan’s efforts to "strengthen democratic institutions, foster economic development, expand opportunity and defeat extremist groups who threaten both nations’ common security," he said.

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