The East-West Center in Honolulu has received a grant worth more than $1 million to run a training and exchange program for U.S. and Pakistani journalists.

The three-year grant from the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan will fund the journalists exchange program, which was held for the first time in April this year. It will also pay for Pakistani journalists to participate in the center’s other journalist programs.

Center officials said this week that it aims to promote free, fair and responsible media in Pakistan to help the country cope with its political and developmental challenges. It also aims to bridge gaps in understanding between the U.S. and Pakistan.

East-West Center President Charles Morrison says U.S.-Pakistan relations are among the most complex and critical international relationships the U.S. has today.