Manmohan-Gilani meet, decide to intensify dialogue

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani met in Seoul today and said that the two countries had charted the right path to resolve their issues and decided to intensify dialogue.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani met in Seoul on Tuesday and said that the two countries had charted the right path to resolve their issues and decided to intensify dialogue.

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The two leaders, who met on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit here in an unscheduled informal meeting, reviewed their improving bilateral relations, said sources.

This was the first meeting between the two leaders since they met in the idyllic Addu resort in the Maldives where they had vowed to script "a new chapter" in their bilateral ties.

According to a statement from the Pakistani Prime Minister's office, both the leaders "expressed their desire to intensify the dialogue process for further engagements".

In the last few months, India and Pakistan have sustained the momentum in their revived dialogue process, with Islamabad moving ahead in the direction of granting India the Most Favoured Nation status.

External affairs minister SM Krishna is expected to go to Pakistan later this year to hold the annual foreign minister-level dialogue with his counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar.