He was speaking to media representatives after holding meetings with Prime Minister Sharif at the latter's residence and with a team led by Aziz at the Foreign Office. The US secretary of state also held a meeting with army chief General Ashfaq Kayani.
The US and Pakistan launched high-level talks on a wide swath of security and development programs in 2010. But the talks stalled in November 2011 after US airstrikes on a Pakistani post on the Pak-Afghan border killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Even before that, the bilateral relationship was severely damaged by a variety of incidents, including a CIA contractor shooting to death two Pakistanis in Lahore and the covert US raid that allegedly 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 US drone strikes and Pakistan's alleged ties with the militants using its territory to launch cross-border attacks against American troops in Afghanistan.
Senior administration officials traveling with Kerry told reporters that while relations with Pakistan have grown touchy in recent years, there is the prospect of resetting those ties with Sharif's government and working together on major issues -- counterterrorism, energy, regional stability, economic reforms, trade and investment.
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