QINGDAO, June 21: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and his Indian counterpart Natwar Singh held an exclusive one-to-one informal meeting here on Monday and agreed to take forward the peace process between the two countries.

The two ministers first held talks over lunch, assisted by officials. Later, they held the one-to-one session on the lawns of the hotel where they are staying to attend the Asian Cooperation Dialogue.

Mr Kasuri and Mr Singh termed the talks 'very positive' and 'constructive'. Talking to newsmen, they said they were fully satisfied with their negotiations. It was the first high-level interaction between the two countries after the change of government in India last month.

They noted that foreign secretaries of the two countries would be meeting within a few days to hold a composite dialogue on all bilateral issues, including the Kashmir dispute.

The ministers hoped that there would be considerable progress in the secretaries' level talks towards normalization of bilateral relations. Talking to APP, Mr Kasuri said Mr Singh had assured him that the peace process initiated by the BJP government would continue at a fast pace.

He said the purpose of the meeting was to develop trust and understanding between the two states so that they could take major steps for bringing their hostile relationship to an end.

Mr Kasuri said the two countries had to move towards a composite dialogue for resolving their disputes, particularly the Kashmir issue, to the satisfaction of all the parties concerned.

Mr Singh told reporters that he had a warm and productive meeting with Mr Kasuri. "We reviewed the progress in all aspects of bilateral relations, including Jammu and Kashmir, and implementation of dialogue process that was worked out in February by the foreign secretaries of the two countries.

"We agreed to remain in regular touch and provide continuous political guideline to the ongoing process. We expect to meet each other on several occasions over the next two months," he said.

"The chemistry was pretty good," he said, referring to the talks. Mr Kasuri said it was necessary that Pakistan and India took difficult decisions. "We are lucky because there is a peace constituency in both the countries, which helps them to resolve their bilateral disputes."

He said there were many factors in favour of continuing the peace process. At a time when the regional groupings were emerging, both countries realized that Saarc should play its role.

"I had a feeling that (Singh) meant well. He told me that it was his great desire in life to resolve the problems between us so we can live like normal friendly neighbours," Mr Kasuri said.

He said he was looking forward to receiving the Indian foreign minister in Islamabad next month, in his capacity as the chairman of the council of ministers of Saarc.

Besides, he said, there would be another meeting between them following the foreign secretary-level talks. Answering a question about the nuclear issue, he said it was discussed with Mr Singh over the lunch. "We both feel that Pakistan and India are responsible powers.

Despite the fact that unfortunately we had the wars, we have always behaved in a civilized manner and we have not attacked each other's civilian sites, major water reservoirs, or major installations of the civilian use. We had not violated the Geneva Convention as far as treatment to prisoners are concerned."

He emphasized that Pakistan wanted durable peace in South Asia which, he said, was not possible without the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. "We need to resolve the question of Jammu and Kashmir in order to achieve durable peace. We have to involve the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the peace process sooner or later."

He said it was a challenge to the leadership of Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir issue in a way that there was no humiliation for any of the two countries, that it met the aspirations and expectations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"It could be a win-win situation. There is a strong political will existing on both sides to resolve the pending disputes," he added. In reply to a question, Mr Kasuri hoped that there would be a meeting between the top leadership of the two countries sooner or later.

"We have to prepare ground for the top-level meeting. A lot of homework needs to be done because we want summit-level talks to be a success; we can't afford failure at that level."

Mr Kasuri said that India's ruling Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi would soon visit Pakistan, adding that President Gen Pervez Musharraf had invited her after she won Lok Sabha elections.

The foreign minister also met the foreign ministers of Thailand, China and Japan, and discussed with them matters relating to economic cooperation and working of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue.-Agencies

Jawed Naqvi adds from New Delhi: Mr Kasuri and Mr Singh welcomed the agreement worked out at the bilateral meeting on the nuclear CBMs, which concluded on Sunday, an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said.

The two ministers assessed the progress in the already held discussions, including at the meetings between the Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers, the narcotics control authorities of the two countries, and the expert-level dialogue on nuclear CBMs.