Islamabad: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday formally invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan to bolster bilateral ties and also make a trip to his ancestral village in Punjab province on the occasion of Guru Nanak's birth anniversary.
In a letter to Mr Singh sent through the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi, Mr Zardari said, "It gives me great pleasure to extend Your Excellency a cordial invitation to visit Pakistan."
Mr Zardari suggested that if Mr Singh's visit coincided with celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in November, it would be well received by the Pakistani people and reinforce the desire of both countries to promote inter-religious harmony.
Your visit will provide us an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral relations," he said.
Mr Zardari in his letter said it was "important to sustain this process and make it more productive and result-oriented".
"We could use that occasion to arrange a visit to your ancestral hometown. If the visit were to coincide with the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Sahib, that would not only be well received by the Pakistani nation but also reinforce our mutual desire to promote inter-faith and inter-religious harmony," Mr Zardari said.
The President recalled his "excellent meeting" with Mr Singh in New Delhi during his private visit to Ajmer in April and expressed satisfaction over the forward movement in the bilateral dialogue process that resumed last year.
"We are confident that the intensity and the range of these engagements will help promote our ties in the right direction and will also help in realising our shared dream of a peaceful and prosperous South Asia," Mr Zardari added.
India and Pakistan resumed their peace process early last year after a gap of over two years in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that were blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The Foreign Ministers of the two countries are scheduled to meet in Islamabad on September 7 to review the latest round of talks.
The two sides have made considerable progress in talks to normalise trade relations, with Pakistan indicating that it will give India Most Favoured Nation-status by the beginning of next year.
Indian officials have linked a visit to Pakistan by Prime Minister Singh to Islamabad doing more to rein in terrorism.
In a letter to Mr Singh sent through the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi, Mr Zardari said, "It gives me great pleasure to extend Your Excellency a cordial invitation to visit Pakistan."
Mr Zardari suggested that if Mr Singh's visit coincided with celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in November, it would be well received by the Pakistani people and reinforce the desire of both countries to promote inter-religious harmony.
Your visit will provide us an opportunity to take stock of our bilateral relations," he said.
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Mr Zardari in his letter said it was "important to sustain this process and make it more productive and result-oriented".
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"We could use that occasion to arrange a visit to your ancestral hometown. If the visit were to coincide with the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak Sahib, that would not only be well received by the Pakistani nation but also reinforce our mutual desire to promote inter-faith and inter-religious harmony," Mr Zardari said.
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The President recalled his "excellent meeting" with Mr Singh in New Delhi during his private visit to Ajmer in April and expressed satisfaction over the forward movement in the bilateral dialogue process that resumed last year.
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"We are confident that the intensity and the range of these engagements will help promote our ties in the right direction and will also help in realising our shared dream of a peaceful and prosperous South Asia," Mr Zardari added.
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India and Pakistan resumed their peace process early last year after a gap of over two years in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that were blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The Foreign Ministers of the two countries are scheduled to meet in Islamabad on September 7 to review the latest round of talks.
The two sides have made considerable progress in talks to normalise trade relations, with Pakistan indicating that it will give India Most Favoured Nation-status by the beginning of next year.
Indian officials have linked a visit to Pakistan by Prime Minister Singh to Islamabad doing more to rein in terrorism.
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