ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced more than $500 million in new aid projects for Pakistan on Monday, which Washington hopes will help win over a sceptical public in an ally vital to winning the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Clinton is in Islamabad for two days as part of the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue, a series of talks aimed at strengthening the relationship between the wary allies in the struggle against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

“For too long our two countries have been hampered by a trust deficit which has held us back. We understand the reasons for that and we accept responsibility for the role that our actions have played. But we need to rebuild that trust,” she said at a town hall meeting.

Earlier, at a joint news conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, she said: “We have moved beyond a standoff of our misunderstandings that were allowed to fester and not addressed … to a position where we’re engaged in the most open dialogue that I think our two countries have ever had.”

Clinton will later fly on to Kabul for an international conference as the US-led war in Afghanistan runs into mounting doubt in the US Congress.

For Pakistan, she announced a string of new projects – including dams, power generation, agricultural development and hospital construction – funded under US legislation passed last year tripling civilian aid to $7.5 billion over the next five years.

Qureshi also added that Pakistan’s energy needs are obvious and very clear targets for bridging the deficit have been devised. A mix of strategies are being worked on, such as tapping available resources, new hydro projects, renewable energy and nuclear energy.

“We have been generating nuclear energy since 35 years and no incident has taken place. Our policy on non-proliferation is very clear and Pakistan’s Nuclear program is safe and accountable, which is endorsed by other parties.” Qureshi said.

The projects, the first to be launched under a new aid plan, are seen as crucial to shoring up support for the US-led struggle against militants in a country where opinion polls show fewer than one in five view the United States favourably.

“The opinion about the United States in Pakistan will change when the people of Pakistan see how, through this partnership, their lives have changed,” Qureshi said.

Pakistan also wants enhanced market access, strengthening of its anti-terrorism resources and “non-discriminatory access” to energy and other technology.

The latter two requests are long-standing Pakistani desires for more military equipment and a civilian nuclear deal like the one between India and the United States.

Pakistan is also seeking a nuclear deal with China, a topic that came up in Clinton’s meeting, where she was asked about lukewarm US support for any nuclear agreements.

Clinton said the United States would continue to look into broadening civil nuclear cooperation, but said Pakistan’s chequered history on proliferation issues “raises red flags” and concerns that need to be addressed.

Washington has already sought clarification from Beijing on the deal to build two new 650-megawatt reactors in Pakistan’s Punjab province, saying it must be approved by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

“We believe that the NSG, which has recently met to examine the sale that you are referring to has posed a series of questions that should be answered because as part of any kind of transaction involving nuclear power, there are concerns by international community, Pakistan knows that,” said Clinton.

“We have conveyed them (concerns), other members of the NSG conveyed them and we look forward to answers of those questions posed,” she told reporters in the Pakistani capital.

A US Embassy official said the audience was selected from various groups and individuals who have contact with the embassy, including aid contractors and grant recipients. – Reuters