The UN chief, Mr Ban Ki-moon, has welcomed the recent “constructive” talks between the Indo-Pak Foreign Ministers and encouraged the two countries to resolve their outstanding issues through dialogue in the interest of the regional security.
The UN Secretary General “welcomes the recent constructive discussions between the two Foreign Ministers” in New Delhi, his office said.
“As he has done on occasions in the past, the Secretary General encourages the two countries to resolve their outstanding issues through dialogue in the interest of the people of the two countries and regional security,” it said.
Mr Ban’s statement follows the July 27 talks between the External Affairs Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, and his Pakistani counterpart, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, in New Delhi during which the two sides announced new Confidence Building Measures (CBMs).
The CBMs included increasing cross-LoC trading days and expanding travel to include tourism and religious aspects, apart from relaxing the permit conditions for travel by the people of Jammu and Kashmir to the other side of LoC by having a system of six-month multiple entry.