The Hindu : National : `Plainspeak' marks meeting

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Tuesday, Sep 07, 2004

National

National

`Plainspeak' marks meeting

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

— AP

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Monday.

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 6. The Pakistan Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, toady called on the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and discussed with him a range of issues.

He also met the National Security Adviser, J.N. Dixit, and had lunch with the Petroleum Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar.

"A lot of plain-speaking marked the meeting," a source in the Prime Minister's Office said. The focus of the discussions was the coming meeting between Dr. Singh and the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf.

Dr. Singh is said to have impressed upon Mr. Kasuri the need to create an environment to take the dialogue process forward, the source said.

Dr. Singh said that he had many friends in Pakistan and specifically mentioned the new Premier, Shaukat Aziz, in this context.

When Mr. Kasuri referred to a possible oil-gas pipeline running through Pakistan into India, Dr. Singh said all these were good ideas, but said the pipeline was not a standalone project. It had to be seen in the wider context of the economic relations between India and Pakistan.

Mr. Kasuri, who leaves for home on Wednesday, will visit Ajmer on Tuesday.

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