Friday 30 April, 2010
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani met in Thimphu on Thursday and decided to resume dialogue at the level of Foreign Ministers. To restore “trust and confidence” in the bilateral relationship, Dr. Singh and Gilani decided that the channels of dialogue between the two countries should be kept open.
After their dialogue in Sharm-el-Sheik in Egypt on 16th July 2009, this was their first meeting. The discussion which were held at the ‘Bhutan House’ in Thimphu on the margins of SAARC Summit, terrorism and the “slow progress” of Pakistan probe into Mumbai attacks formed part of the agenda. Nirupama Rao Foreign Secretary told reporters, “The Prime Minister held very good talks in a free and frank manner. They agreed that cooperation between the two countries is vital for the people of South Asia to realize their destiny”.
Rao said, “Prime Minister expressed India’s concern over the slow progress of Mumbai trial in Pakistan to Prime Minister Gilani”. She further asserted that Dr. Manmohan Singh told Gilani that India was willing to discuss all issues of mutual interests through dialogue but the issue of terrorism is pulling back the progress. Shah Mehmood Qureshi Pakistan Foreign Minister told in a news conference that the meeting between the two leaders ended on a positive note.
He said that he would be engaging with his Indian counterpart S M Krishna at an appropriate time. S M Qureshi also welcomed P Chidambaram Home Minister to Islamabad on 26th June for the SAARC Home Minister’s conference. Pakistan Foreign Minister further added, the meeting has “changed the climate” between the two neighboring countries.
