Making a statement at his White House Oval office after holding wide ranging talks with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Bush formally confirmed that he would visit Pakistan in March this year.
President Bush said in his statement, "We have had wide ranging talks. We have strategic relationship with Pakistan which is vital for the United States and we want to thank the president and the prime minister for working closely with the United States in the war against terrorism."
He said, "We talked about importance of trade, commerce and US investment in Pakistan and the US response to the terrible tragedy in which nearly 75,000 people lost their lives. We are pleased that the US government, private sector, taxpayers and military helped Pakistan in relief and reconstruction efforts," he added.
He thanked the Pakistani leadership for inviting him to visit Pakistan and said, "I would visit Pakistan and India in March this year."
In his statement, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that Pakistan has multifaceted strategic relationship with the United States and its role in the war against terrorism was very important for Pakistan and the entire civil society.
He said Pakistan was working for peace in the region and wanted peaceful resolution of all disputes, including the core issue of Kashmir.
Shaukat said that Pakistan was against proliferation by anybody. He thanked the United States for its generous help for relief and rehabilitation work in the earthquake areas.
He said the president, the cabinet and people are looking forward to President Bush's visit to Pakistan, which would further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries.
Later addressing a news conference after the talks, the prime minister said they covered a host of issues, including defence, security and economic co-operation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy and helping each other in achieving their objectives.
Shaukat described his visit to the White House as very good and said Pakistan and the United States have multifaceted relations. He said they also discussed various co-operative efforts to make the world more peaceful.
To a question, he said, they discussed war against terrorism and the need for closer communication and co-ordination for taking this effort forward.
To another question as to whether Pakistan's desire for civilian nuclear co-operation for generating nuclear energy came under discussion, the prime minister replied in affirmative and said they discussed the issue.
Asked if the Bajaur incident was also discussed, he said that they discussed every issue. He said Pakistan is a developing country and the US has helped it a lot.