Port Louis, March 30
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said he was looking forward to meeting the Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, when he comes to India to witness the one-day India-Pakistan cricket match on April 17.

Addressing a team of journalists accompanying him on his visit to Mauritius on board Air-India’s ‘Khajuraho’, the Prime Minister said when politicians meet, they do not confine their discussions to weather alone. The Pakistan President was visiting the country at his invitation and the two leaders would take the opportunity to understand each other’s point of view better.

Dr Singh said a warm welcome awaited General Musharraf in India. The meeting he had with him in New York in September, 2004, and the joint statement they issued afterwards provided the framework for talks.

The Prime Minister said considerable progress in restoring normalcy in India-Pakistan relations had been achieved. The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, slated to begin on April 7, marked the strides the two countries had made in building confidence in each other. He recalled in this context his recent meeting with Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to buttress the point that the peace process had a dynamic of its own which was more or less irreversible.

Answering a question, he said the US decision to give F-16 aircraft to Pakistan was a disappointment as it came when the India-Pakistan relations were entering a threshold. It came when the neighbours were trying to resolve their outstanding issues in a peaceful and friendly manner.

Dr Singh said he was not sure what the US had in mind when it decided to arm Pakistan with the fighter aircraft. However, it would not affect India’s strategic partnership with the US, which, he said, India wanted to nurture in its ambition to emerge as a major world power.

On the question of buying F-16 or more advanced aircraft from the US, he said India had an open mind. However, India favoured an arrangement whereby technology transfer was possible through joint production in order to ensure continuity of supply.

The Prime Minister was hopeful that the forthcoming visit of the Chinese Premier to India would provide an opportunity to cement the economic and political relations between the two countries, which account for one-third of humanity. He said the world was watching how India and China were finding ways to solve their border dispute through talks.

In a statement issued at the time of departure from New Delhi, Dr Singh said he hoped to have discussions with the Mauritian leadership with a view to deepening the economic content of India’s relations with the island nation.

On his arrival at the Shri Seewosagar Ramgoolam international airport here, the Prime Minister was given a warm welcome by his Mauritian counterpart, Mr Paul Raymond Berenger. He also inspected a guard of honour at the airport. Dr Singh is accompanied by the Union Communication Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, and the National Security Adviser, Mr M.K. Narayanan, on his first visit to Mauritius.