New Delhi (PTI): Reaching out to the new Pakistani leadership, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday felicitated his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gillani and conveyed a desire for transforming the bilateral ties into the "best ever" for which an "opportunity" has come.

Soon after Gillani assumed office, Singh sent a letter to the Pakistan Prime Minister and later called him up to greet him with a hope that the two countries would work expeditiously towards "agreed solutions of pending issues".

Singh hoped Gillani would build on the initiatives taken by the then Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif as also President Pervez Musharraf to improve the bilateral relations.

"We have an opportunity to transform our relationship into the close, cooperative and mutually-beneficial partnership that should be normal between neighbours like India and Pakistan," Singh said in his letter to 55-year-old Gillani who is heading the PPP-PML(N) government.

"I hope very much that we can build upon the progress already achieved and work expeditiously, through the dialogue process, towards agreed solutions of pending issues," Singh said.

Reaffirming New Delhi's commitment to strengthening friendship and cooperation with Islamabad, Singh said "we see a stable, prosperous and democratic Pakistan as being in the interest of India and the region.

"I look forward to working closely with you towards an objective that I am confident you share," the Indian Prime Minister said in his letter to Gillani.

Singh spoke of "strong" public sentiment in both the countries in favour of accelerating the peace process and establishing a cooperative framework for bilateral relations.

"There is a common desire to establish a neighbourhood of peace and progress based on greater linkages between our two people, trust and mutual understanding," the Indian Prime Minister said.

"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," he said.

Gillani, a Bhutto-loyalist, was sworn-in on Tuesday as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.