US President George Bush [Images] on Tuesday said that his country looks forward to deepening its relationship with Pakistan, which he reiterated has been a 'close and important friend.'

During his first-ever meeting with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations plenary session that began on Tuesday, Bush told the newly-elected leader that Pakistan is an ally of the United States.

'We will be discussing, of course, how to help spread prosperity. We want our friends around the world to be making a good living,' Bush told the visiting dignitary.

'We can work together, and of course we will be talking about security,' Bush said, adding, 'Your words have been very strong about Pakistan's sovereign right and sovereign duty to protect your country, and the United States wants to help.'

At the outset, Bush expressed his deepest condolences for the victims of those who died as a result of terrorist attack in Islamabad [Images].

'I know that you -- your heart went out to the families of those who suffer and so does the collective heart of the American people; we stand with you,' Bush said.

Zardari told the President that 'as always, you (Bush) prove to the world that your heart is in there for us Pakistanis, (and) we respect your feelings, we respect the American ideals.'

He said democracy had come full circle, thanks to help of all the friends around the world.

'We have a situation. We have issues. We have got problems. But we will solve them and we will rise to the occasion. That's what my wife's legacy is all about,' he said, alluding to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto [Images].

'That's what democracy is all about, to take difficult decisions and do the right thing for the people of our country and our two great nations. We should come together in this hard time and we will share the burden and the responsibility with the world,' he said.

The details of the meeting were not immediately available, except the transcript released by the White House.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino [Images] told a briefing on Monday that the meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari is very important.

'It is his first meeting with the new President. We have extensive coordination and cooperation that is ongoing with Pakistan, and for good reason,' Perino said.

Perino added that terrorists were trying to kill innocent people to advance their political objectives.

The US, she said, will remain committed to working with Pakistan, while Zardari too wants to work with the US.

In his address to the UN Plenary on Tuesday, Bush focused on the issue of terrorism, saying multilateral institutions must take on challenging tasks like confronting terrorism.

'Multilateral organizations must respond by taking an unequivocal moral stand against terrorism. No cause can justify the deliberate taking of innocent human life -- and the international community is nearing universal agreement on this truth,' Bush said in his final address to the United Nations.