NEW YORK, Jan 23: US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday assured foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri of President Bush’s commitment to further strengthen ties and cooperation with Pakistan.

Mr Powell and Kasuri exchanged views on the telephone ahead of their scheduled meeting in Washington next week.

Mr Kasuri’s telephone call to Secretary Powell followed his meeting between the two on the sidelines of the UN Security Council meeting on global terrorism, in which he also raised the issue of the registration of Pakistanis as required under the new US law.

The foreign minister is also expected to meet National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and US lawmakers on the issue. In interviews with the media here, Mr Kasuri has been seeking relaxation of US immigration rules as applied to Pakistanis.