New Delhi: The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan Wednesday insisted relations were back on track after talks that highlighted a "new era" of cooperation in bilateral ties.
Although S.M. Krishna and Hina Rabbani Khar's meeting in the Indian capital produced little in the way of substantive agreements, the tone was one of forward-looking optimism that acknowledged a joint responsibility to bring stability to South Asia.
It was the first time both countries' foreign ministers met in over a year, and followed the formal resumption in February of the comprehensive peace dialogue suspended by India after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
After the talks, Krishna said ties were back "on the right track," while Khar spoke of a "mindset change" that had ushered in a "new era of cooperation".
"We have some distance to travel, but with an open mind and a constructive approach ... I am sure we can reach our desired destination of having a friendly and cooperative relationship," Krishna said.
Khar said the peace dialogue was now an "uninterruptable" process that both countries were committed to taking forward.
"A new generation of Indians and Pakistanis will see a relationship that will hopefully be much different from the one that has been experienced in the last two decades," she said.
A joint statement outlined the commitment of both sides to fight militancy, boost trade and keep the peace process going.
