By KUNA,
New Delhi : Pakistans Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Quereshi will arrive in India Friday on a four-day visit to take part in a series of bilateral parleys to help improve bilateral ties. Qureshi would hold discussions with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow morning on a wide array of bilateral and regional issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, cross-border terrorism, confidence-building measures, and trade and energy issues, an official in the Indian External Affairs Ministry told reporters here Thursday. Qureshi now also holds the Oil Ministry portfolio and the two sides are expected to discuss the issue of proposed tri-nation (Iran-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline project. A tripartite meeting is scheduled to be held in Tehran on the issue mid-July. The visit follows the invitation extended to the Pakistan Foreign Minister by Pranab Mukherjee during his visit to Islamabad last month. The two foreign ministers had then reviewed the fourth round of composite dialogue.
“The Ministerial talks will also set in process the fifth round of bilateral composite dialogue, which is likely to be launched by the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries around mid-July,” the official added. Qureshi is also scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow evening to discuss bilateral issues. On Saturday, he is scheduled to meet former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He will also meet Leaders of the Opposition in both houses of Indian parliament L.K. Advani (Lok Saabha-Lower House) and Jaswant Singh (Upper House-Rajya Sabha), also on Saturday. Apart from meetings in New Delhi, Quereshi will visit Indian cities of Jaipur, Ajmer and Chandigarh Sunday. The visiting Minister will return to Islamabad Monday.