NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit India later this year as the new Hindu nationalist leader extended another olive branch Thursday to one of New Delhi’s traditional rivals.

The invitation was made during a phone call between the newly-elected Modi and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang in which both premiers expressed a desire for stronger ties, India’s Foreign Ministry said.

Their conversation came only two days after Modi held landmark talks with Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of India’s other nuclear-armed neighbor, Pakistan.

“Prime Minister Modi extended through Premier Li an invitation to President Xi Jinping to pay a visit to India later this year,” said a Foreign Ministry statement.

Li conveyed the “Chinese government’s desire to establish robust partnership with the new government of India for further development of relations between the two nations,” the statement added.

Modi said he wanted to work closer with the Chinese government to deal with any “outstanding issues in our bilateral relations” and “welcomed greater economic engagement between the two countries.”

Meanwhile, Modi instructed top ministers Thursday to prepare their agendas for the first 100 days but did not reveal which of the country's many problems would be tackled first. The pro-business leader was sworn in as prime minister on Monday armed with a powerful mandate to reform the ailing economy after his right-wing Hindu nationalist party won a landslide election victory.

Speculation has been mounting about what the Modi government would grasp first given the scale of India's economic problems, including creaking infrastructure, energy shortages, high inflation and poor public finances. After attending a Cabinet meeting chaired by Modi on Thursday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu refused to say what was top of the list amid sky-high expectations.

"Containing inflation is an obvious priority for the government," Naidu told reporters when repeatedly pressed about the government's focus.

"All sectors are a priority for the prime minister and expectations are high," Naidu said, adding Modi had reminded ministers of the need for good governance and efficient implementation of policies.

Parliament will sit from June 4 for the first time since the election to swear in new lawmakers and select a speaker of the house for the coming sessions, Naidu said after the Cabinet meeting.