DHAKA, 5 November 2004 — Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has expressed his hope that Islamabad’s ongoing dialogue with India for resolving all outstanding issues will lead to more concrete regional cooperation in South Asia under the ambit of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Speaking at a dinner hosted by his Bangladesh counterpart Khaleda Zia in Dhaka late on Wednesday night, he said Pakistan’s relations with India have witnessed a positive evolution.

“The process of confidence-building measures and composite dialogue has resulted in an appreciable improvement in relations. We are sincerely committed to resolving all outstanding issues, including that of Jammu and Kashmir, peacefully through dialogue,” he said.

He said Pakistan earnestly wishes to turn a new chapter in its relations with India. This has also had a definitive impact on SAARC and brightened considerably the prospects of regional cooperation under this useful organization, he said.

Shaukat Aziz left for Islamabad ending his two-day trip to Dhaka yesterday afternoon as the current chairperson of SAARC. Earlier he visited Nepal and Bhutan.

He said that SAARC has contributed to improving the political climate in South Asia and has brought into sharp focus the aspirations of the people of the vast region for progress and socio-economic development.

The Pakistan prime minister said he was looking forward to passing the SAARC baton to Bangladesh at the forthcoming Dhaka summit and also assured his country’s full cooperation in making the summit a great success.

Shaukat Aziz said SAARC again returns to Dhaka, its birthplace, for inspiration and revitalization. “I would like to pay a special tribute to the late President Ziaur Rahman for pioneering the vision of peaceful cooperation among the nations of South Asia.

According to the tentative schedule, the Jan. 9-11 summit would be preceded by a series of meetings of senior SAARC officials, foreign secretaries and foreign ministers doing the spadework for the meet.

The inaugural session of the summit will be held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Center and the concluding session at the International Conference Center located in the prime minister’s office in Dhaka.