March 25, 2008 Manmohan Greets New
Pakistan PM,
Hopes for 'Best Ever' Ties
New Delhi
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday congratulated Pakistan's new
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani on taking up office and
expressed hope that both their countries would accelerate the peace
process in the days to come and forge a "mutually beneficial
partnership".
In a telephone call to Gillani, Manmohan Singh expressed the hope
that India-Pakistan relations can evolve to become the "best ever",
a statement by the prime minister's office said here.
Singh also hoped Gillani would build on the initiatives taken by his
predecessors, former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz
Shariff, and also of President Pervez Musharaf to improve bilateral
relations, the statement said.
Earlier in the day, Manmohan Singh wrote a letter to Gillani, who
was sworn in Pakistan's prime minister Tuesday, re-affirming India's
"commitment to strengthening friendship and cooperation with
Pakistan."
"We see a stable, prosperous and democratic Pakistan as being in the
interest of India and the region," Singh wrote in his letter to
Gillani.
Gillani was administered the oath of office by President Pervez
Musharraf in the central hall of the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad
Tuesday.
Alluding to "a strong public sentiment in both countries in favor of
accelerating the peace process", Manmohan Singh hoped that the two
countries can "build upon the progress already achieved and work
expeditiously, through the dialogue process, towards agreed
solutions of pending issues."
"Leading personalities of the coalition that will form your
government have been strong advocates of friendly ties between our
two countries and have made important contributions to the peace
process," Manmohan Singh wrote, referring to the positive statements
about the peace process that emanated from the new dispensation
after the Feb 18 polls in Pakistan.
"We have an opportunity to transform our relationship into the
close, cooperative and mutually beneficial partnership that should
be normal between neighbors like India and Pakistan," he wrote.
"I look forward to working closely with you towards an objective
that I am confident you share," he said, setting the tone for the
next round of the composite dialogue that the two countries are
expected to launch next month.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon will go to Islamabad next month
to review with his Pakistani counterpart the fourth round of
composite dialogue between the two countries that concluded last
year. This will be followed by the visit of External Affairs
Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Pakistan in May.
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