'Terrific News,' says US over diplomatic development between Pakistan, India

WASHINGTON - The United States has welcomed the decision made by Pakistan and India to hold a foreign ministerial-level meeting on the sidelines of  UN General Assembly session in New York.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had proposed a meeting between Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Sushma Swaraj, Pakistan and India foreign ministers respectively, in a letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. The letter was sent in response to Modi's call for bilateral engagements.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/fm-shah-mehmood-to-meet-sushma-swaraj-on-sidelines-of-unga/

During her daily press conference, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert termed the meeting between Pakistan and Indian ministers as "terrific news".

"We saw that (reports of meetings between the leaders of both countries). I think that's a terrific news for the Indians and Pakistanis to be able to sit down and have a conversation together," she told reporters.

Hailing exchange of messages between the PM Imran and Modi, the spokespersons said: "We saw the reports about the positive messages being exchanged between Prime Minister Khan and also Prime Minister Modi. And we hope that the conditions will be set for a good strong relationship, a good strong bilateral relationship in the future".

Pakistan's Foreign Office on Thursday confirmed that Imran Khan had written to Modi emphasizing on resuming dialogue between the two countries.

https://twitter.com/ForeignOfficePk/status/1042677141996011525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1042677141996011525%7Ctwgr%5E373939313b73706563696669635f73706f7274735f616374696f6e&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.dailypakistan.com.pk%2Fheadline%2Ffm-shah-mehmood-to-meet-sushma-swaraj-on-sidelines-of-unga%2F

‘Building on the mutual desire for peace between our two countries, I wish to propose a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj before the informal meeting of the SAARC Foreign Minister at the sidelines of the upcoming UN General Assembly in the New York,’ read the prime minister's letter.

Following FO spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal's tweet, New Delhi made an announcement regarding acceptance of the proposal, saying the meeting will be held between the foreign ministers.