June 2nd 2003
SINGAPORE (AFP) - The recent warming of ties between India and Pakistan has raised hopes for another summit between their leaders, Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes said here Sunday.
"We are looking forward to maybe a slow movement upwards, nevertheless a very definite movement towards having a summit between the two (leaders)," he said at the end of the two-day annual Asia Security Conference in Singapore.
"So it's something very, very positive that is happening in the subcontinent."
However Fernandes said the talks would not be held soon.
"It's going to take quite some time before these talks have to commence," he said at a news briefing following the conference.
"It will take time for the simple reason that the right atmosphere will have to be created for that."
Fernandes cited problems surrounding the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in the ancient Indian city of Agra in 2001, which he said was transformed into a "media event and not a serious exercise".
"This time around, we would like to have adequate preparations for this and avoid the kind of experiences that we had earlier.
"The right atmosphere is identifying the agenda, identifying the issues that are to be discussed."
Fernandes gave a cautious assessment of the bilateral ties that have warmed considerably since Vajpayee offered a "hand of friendship" to Pakistan in April, ending a 17-month deadlock following a militant attack on the Indian parliament.
He said the latest positive development was a visit by a group of Pakistani MPs to India and a planned reciprocal trip by Indian parliamentarians to Pakistan.
Business executives have also started interacting and the media on both sides have been supportive, he said.
However, Fernandes said that cross-border terrorism, which New Delhi claims is aided and abetted by Islamabad, continues.
"There has not been any let-up on that," he said.
As part of the warming ties, the two nations have reappointed their ambassadors and are discussing ways to revive air, bus and train links that were cut after the parliament attack.
On Saturday, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Washington was "very pleased" with warming relations between the nuclear rivals.
Wolfowitz met Fernandes on the sidelines of the conference on Saturday.
