Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari held a phone conversation with the U.S. president-elect Barack Obama on Saturday, discussing cooperation on anti-terror war.

"President-elect Obama said that he looked forward to improved relations with Pakistan," said a statement from Pakistani president's media office.

Zardari expressed the hope of better and improved relations between the two countries in the days to come, the statement said.

Obama also said both Pakistan and the United States share long lasting friendship and hoped to eradicate terrorism from the region with Pakistan support, Pakistan's private Geo television reported.

Pakistan has been a U.S. ally in the war on terror since Sept. 11 incident. But the relations between the two countries have been strained recently over the cross-border U.S. missile strikes in Pakistan.

Obama, who won the U.S. presidential elections on Tuesday, had said he would authorize military action inside Pakistan if Al- Qaeda terrorists should be found there and Pakistan cannot or will not act.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2008)