India, Pakistan PMs vow to start ‘new chapter’

ADDU, November 10, 2011 (AFP) - The prime ministers of India and Pakistan said Thursday they expected to open a "new chapter" at future talks between the rival nations after they met at a regional summit in the Maldives.







India's Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani said their often strained ties were improving, but they declined to give a date for their next meeting.

"The time has come to write a new chapter in the history of our countries," Singh told reporters.

"The next round of talks should be far more productive and far more practical-orientated in bringing the two countries closer.

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Gilani said that "all issues" had been discussed during their one-hour meeting including the contentious subject of Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region divided between the two nuclear rivals and claimed in its entirety by both.

"I am ready to discuss each and every issue," Gilani said.

"I think that the next round of the talks would be more constructive, more positive, and will open a new chapter in the history of both the countries.









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The leaders did not give further details of their discussions on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) gathering in the Ma