NEW YORK — Alarmed by persistent anti-American sentiment and rising Taliban influence in Pakistan, the Obama administration hailed today's Senate vote to triple foreign aid to the country.

Passage of the bill that will provide Pakistan with $1.5 billion in aid a year over the next five years coincided with a meeting in New York of major supporters of Pakistan co-chaired by President Barack Obama.

The timing was deliberate, according to the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. He said Obama announced the vote to the meeting of the "Friends of Pakistan" held on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly.

"It was the only spontaneous applause in the meeting," Holbrooke told reporters afterward.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.N. chief Ban ki-Moon were also in attendance.

"It's a big step forward and it was done on a bipartisan basis by the Senate, specifically timed to this meeting," Holbrooke said of the Senate vote.

The House could pass the bill as early as Friday, clearing the way for Obama's signature and the provision of the assistance, which focuses on democratic, economic and social development programs.

The bill also authorizes "such sums as are necessary" for military aid to Pakistan.