Congress on Tuesday said it was always in favour of friendship between India and Pakistan and welcomed the SAARC declaration committing member-nations to elimination of terrorism in all forms and providing for free trade in the region.
"Congress has always been in favour of friendship between India and Pakistan," party spokesman S Jaipal Reddy told reporters here.
Though the party was not satisfied with what had been achieved at the SAARC summit, "we welcome the SAARC declaration", Reddy said.
Senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh said his party was always in favour of extending maximum possible cooperation in South Asian regions.
"We are for normalising relation with all the countries, including Pakistan. So I am glad that the present government is talking in terms of establishing working relations with Pakistan and other countries of South Asia," he said on the sidelines of a book release function.
He said his party was "entirely" in support of maximum possible cooperation among countries of South Asia.