External affairs minister SM Krishna will be going to Islamabad on July 15 for talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
This was announced soon after Krishna had a 30-minute telephonic conversation with his counterpart in Islamabad. The call was scheduled a few hours before Krishna leaves for Kazakhstan on a three-day visit later in the day.
?Let us hope that these talks will be helpful in bringing our two countries closer together,? Krishna said after his phone conversation with Qureshi during which the two discussed steps to carry forward the stalled peace process between India and Pakistan.
He said that the talks would be marked with ?cordiality? and would be ?fruitful?.
According to the minister, outstanding issues would be discussed and resolved by ?mutual trust and mutual respect?. During discussions in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu late last month, Prime Ministers of both countries agreed that their foreign ministers would meet soon to draw up a road map for future talks.
Reportedly, after talking on the phone, Qureshi told media persons that ?It was a good conversation that we had.?
?I?m presuming that both sides are comfortable with the structure in place (for improving relations),? he said.
India had suspended the composite dialogue with Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai carnage in which several Pakistani nationals were involved. Since then, India has repeatedly been pushing back Pakistan calls for a resumption of the Composite Dialogue, insisting that Islamabad has not done enough to bring the Pakistan-based militants to justice.
