The foreign ministers of Pakistan and India will meet in Delhi on July 27 to discuss all aspects of the bilateral relations with a focus on the core issue of Kashmir, terrorism trade ties and promotion of bilateral exchanges.
The meeting between newly-appointed Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will meet Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna will be preceded by secretary-level talks on July 26, according to foreign office statement issued on Thursday.
Khar, who took the oath of her office on Tuesday, will face first high-profile test this week before talks with her Indian counterpart when she meets US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
Foreign Minister Khar is also likely to have an informal meeting with the Indian Foreign Minister, who will also be in Bali to attend the meeting scheduled for July 22 and 23.
Meanwhile, Chinese foreign minister congratulated Khar on assumption of the office. In a letter, he said he was looking forward to work closely with Foreign Minister Khar for the further strengthening the Sino-Pak friendly ties.
The Indo-Pak foreign ministers, in their meeting in New Delhi, would discuss host of issues including Kashmir, Peace and Security, terrorism, Siachen and Sir Creek.
“They are also likely to announce new Kashmir specific confidence building measures (CBMs) to facilitate the people-to-people contact and trade ties across the Line of Control (LoC),” an official here said.
The peace process between Pakistan and India was stalled by the 2008 Mumbai attacks. However, the ice was broken following a meeting between Prime ministers Yousaf Raza Gilani and Manmohan Singh at Sharm-el-Sheikh in 2009, followed by another round in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu on the sidelines of a SAARC summit in April 2010.
The two leaders last met at Mohali to witness the Pakistan-India cricket World Cup semi-final in March. They expressed to resolve that dialogue was the only way forward and agreed to discuss all outstanding issues.