Pak Foreign Minister to arrive on Friday

New Delhi, Jun 25 (UNI) Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi will arrive here on Friday on a four-day visit to India for discussions with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on carrying forward the Composite Dialogue Process (CDP) into its fifth round.

The External Affairs Ministry while announcing Mr Qureshi's visit, said he will arrive at 1000 Hrs on June 27 and immediately after, have talks with the External Affairs Minister in the afternoon. The two Ministers are scheduled to address a press conference after the discussions.

During their discussions, the two Ministers will follow-up on the important decisions taken during their first meeting in Islamabad last month, particularly the finalisation of the pending agreement on liberalisation of the visa regime, officials said.

Other key items on the agenda will be the Jammu and Kashmir, Sir Creek, Siachen, economic cooperation and trade matters.

The visit of the foreign minister acquires special significance as it would set the tone for the next round of Pakistan-India Composite Dialogue and future course of bilateral engagement, the officials said.

The visit comes close on the heels of the third meeting of the India-Pakistan Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism in Islamabad on June 24.

It also follows visit to India by a delegation of the Pakistan Planning Commission and their meetings with officials here.

Mr Mukherjee will host a lunch for his Pakistani counterpart.

This will be the second meeting between the two Foreign Ministers during the past month. They had met in Islamabad on May 21 to prepare ground for the Fifth round of the CDP.

The Pakistan Foreign Minister will call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at 7 Race Course Road in the evening.

On Saturday, Mr Qureshi will have separate ameetings with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, L K Advani at their residences respetvely.

On Sunday, the Pakistan Foreign Minister will leave for Jaipur, Ajmer and Chandigarh.

The Pakistan Foreign Minister will be leading a six-member delegation comprising senior officials and recently appointed Pakistan Ambassador-at-Large Nasir Ali Khan.

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