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India and Pakistan on Saturday reaffirmed the importance of carrying forward the dialogue process and resolving peacefully all outstanding issues through constructive and result oriented engagement, and to establish friendly, cooperative and good neighborly relations between Pakistan and India. Issuing a joint statement after delegation-level talks held here, the foreign ministers of the two countries – S.M. Krishna and Hina Rabbani Khar said that they had reviewed the status of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction with the progress being made so far. Both Krishna and Khar further expressed satisfaction over the outcome of meetings on issues related to counter-terrorism (including progress on Mumbai trial) and narcotics control; humanitarian issues; commercial and economic cooperation etc. Other issues such as the Wullar Barrage / Tulbul Navigation Project; Sir Creek; Siachen; Peace and Security, including CBMs; Jammu and Kashmir; and promotion of friendly exchanges were also discussed, and progress welcomed. Both ministers said in their joint statement that the dialogue process is guided by the commitment of leadership of the two countries, expressed at the highest level, to find peaceful and mutually acceptable solutions to all outstanding issues and to build a relationship of trust and all round cooperation between Pakistan and India. They expressed satisfaction at the increase in high-level bilateral exchanges between the two countries since their last meeting in New Delhi in July 2011, namely, leadership level meetings between President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at New Delhi and Tehran in April and August 2012, the first ever bilateral visit of the Speaker of Lok Sabha to Pakistan at the invitation of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, visit of the Commerce Minister of Pakistan to India, after 35 years, in September 2011, another visit by the Commerce Minister of Pakistan to India in April 2012, and the first ever bilateral visit of the Commerce and Industry Minister of India to Pakistan in February 2012. The Ministers underlined the importance of continued high-level exchange between the two countries. Both ministers said that they had held substantive discussions on the whole range of issues within the framework of the dialogue process and expressed satisfaction over the progress achieved since their last review meeting in July 2011.

India, Pak reaffirm importance of carrying dialogue forward