Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Shaukat Aziz held a rare meeting and began a series of talks here today. Aziz arrived in India on Tuesday for an unusual top-level visit between the two countries. Both countries hope it will extend the goodwill gained since January as they have eased visa restrictions, resumed diplomatic contacts, and re-launched air and rail links. The two prime ministers _ both respected economists _ were expected to focus on trade and business issues along with discussions on Kashmir. A cautious Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh said on Monday: "We want to convey this ... Please accept this as a process, not as an event, and not look at the outcome." On Tuesday, Aziz met with Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, who "talked about taking the composite dialogue forward ... and agreed to work for increased cooperation between India and Pakistan," Navtej Sarna, foreign ministry spokesman, said Tuesday. "It was a very friendly, positive and forward-looking meeting," he said, declining to provide further details. --MORE 1237 Local Time 0937 GMT
