By IRNA,
New Delhi : Indian and Pakistan Tuesday exchanged views on bilateral relations.
The Foreign Minister of Pakistan S. M. Qureshi, called his Indian counterpart, the External Affairs Minister (EAM), S. M. Krishna on telephone today evening, to convey felicitations on the occasion of India’s Republic Day.
The Ministers had a brief exchange of views on bilateral relations, said an official statement issued here.
Referring to the forthcoming meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan in Thimpu, the Ministers hoped for a positive outcome.
Krishna reiterated his invitation to Qureshi to visit India at a mutually convenient date, to carry forward the dialogue process. Qureshi stated that he looked forward to visiting New Delhi.
He also thanked Krishna for his letter of condolences on the assassination of Governor Salman Taseer.
Indian External Affairs Minister said that it was a tragic incident and once again conveyed his deep sympathies to members of the bereaved family.
Earlier, in a message of greetings sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on India’s Republic Day, his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani said: ‘I avail this opportunity to reiterate Pakistan’s strong commitment to pursue our desire to develop friendly relations on the basis of sovereign equality and commonality of interest.’
‘We are also committed to resolving all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir and water disputes, towards realizing the vision of a peaceful and prosperous South Asia.’