Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Monday that his visit to India this week will improve the "atmosphere of relations" between the two countries. Aziz, speaking in Colombo during a South Asia tour, said his trip to New Delhi, which begins Tuesday, was part of Pakistan's commitment to peaceful relations with its neighbors, including India. "My visit should not be viewed as a transactional process, but as an ongoing process," Aziz told a group of businessmen and journalists at the end of his two-day tour of Sri Lanka. Aziz is visiting the region as chairman of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, a seven-nation group that promotes economic cooperation. He left for the Maldives on Monday and will travel to India the next day, where he is expected to meet with his counterpart, Manmohan Singh, and former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Aziz said he will discuss "all issues," with Indian leaders including Kashmir. He said relations between Islamabad and New Delhi have improved with more people-to-people contacts. "We have an improved atmosphere," Aziz said, particularly noting renewed cricket matches between the two.
