Qureshi calls Krishna, hopes for positive outcome at Thimphu
By IANSTuesday, January 25, 2011
NEW DELHI - The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan Tuesday had a telephonic talk and hoped for “a positive outcome” at the forthcoming foreign secretaries meeting in Thimphu next month.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi rang up his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna to convey felicitations on the occasion of India’s Republic Day.
“The ministers had a brief exchange of views on bilateral relations. Referring to the forthcoming meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan in Thimphu, the ministers hoped for a positive outcome,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement after the telephonic talk.
The telephonic conversation has brightened the chances of a bilateral meeting between Krishna and Qureshi on the sidelines of the meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) standing committee.
Krishna reiterated his invitation to Qureshi to visit India at a mutually convenient date, to carry forward the dialogue process, the ministry said.
Qureshi said that he looked forward to visiting New Delhi and thanked Krishna for his letter of condolences on the assassination of Salman Taseer, the governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province early this month.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will hold wide-ranging talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Basheer in Thimphu Feb 6 that could set the stage for a likely bilateral meeting between Krishna and Qureshi, paving the way for his visit to New Delhi.
