India, Pakistan desire forward movement in ties: Jilani

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Ahead of his return home following official talks here, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani Friday said the two countries now "desire to move forward" on their bilateral relations, and also stressed the need for them to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.

Jalil said the two sides had made "good progress" and were developing a very good understanding on each other's perspectives on issues plaguing the bilateral relations.

The Pakistan foreign secretary met with his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathai over two days here for bilateral talks that ended Thursday.

"I think there is desire on both sides to move forward our relationship and I have absolutely no doubt that we are moving in the right direction," Jilani told reporters before leaving for Pakistan.

"I think in our two days of meeting, we have made some very good progress. We are developing very good understanding of our perspective point of views," he said.

Noting that both India and Pakistan were victims of terrorism, Jilani said: "We are both suffering because of terrorism. We need to cooperate on this issue very seriously and sincerely."

Pakistan, he said, was eager to receive Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit, stressing that high-level contact between the two countries is very important to move the peace process forward.