Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s administration is working to resume more direct contact with Cuba as part of a U.S. effort to establish dialogue with foes from Iran to North Korea to Burma.

The State Department held talks with Cuba this month in Havana to discuss resuming direct postal service between the two countries. It sent Bisa Williams, acting deputy assistant secretary in the bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, on Sept. 17, making her the most senior State Department official to visit Cuba since Obama took office in January.

The talks were described as exploratory and technical and no date was set for the resumption of mail.

Williams met with Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Dagoberto Rodriguez, the Associated Press reported today.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Williams spent six days, visited an area in western Cuba hit by a hurricane and met with representatives of civil society groups, in addition to discussing the postal issue.

Asked if Williams’s extended stay meant a thawing in relations, Crowley said, “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“We’ve had these kinds of discussions at this level before but not in a while, and we’re getting back to a place where we can discuss things of mutual interest,” Crowley said.

Williams’s visit follows a meeting Cuban and U.S. officials held in July to discuss how best to promote safe, legal and orderly migration from Cuba to the U.S. The countries are set to hold another round in December.

Obama in April loosened restrictions on travel for Cuban- Americans visiting family members in the Caribbean nation and lifted caps on how much money they may send relatives on the island. Obama also said he would allow U.S. telecommunications companies such as AT&T Inc. to get licenses to do business in Cuba. Still, on Sept. 11, he signed a one-year extension of the Trading With the Enemy Act, which restricts trade with Cuba.

To contact the reporter on this story: Janine Zacharia in Washington at jzacharia@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 29, 2009 18:18 EDT