New York: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have held in-depth discussions on the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal which comes up in the Senate in the next few days.
During their half-an-hour meeting on Thursday night, the two leaders also exchanged views on several regional and international issues of mutual concern.
Officials briefing reporters did not give any more details but said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere.
Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and Indian Ambassador to the United Nations Nirupam Sen were also present during the discussions, which covered a wide range of bilateral issues.
Earlier in the day, Mukherjee held talks with other SAARC ministers on ways to improve coordination among the member countries and implementation of the agenda agreed at the Dhaka Summit in November last year.
During an informal luncheon meeting hosted by Bangladesh Foreign Minister Morshed Khan, the ministers of the regional grouping reviewed coordination between them and stressed on the need to enhance it.
Proposing vote of thanks in his capacity as representative of the incoming chair of SAARC, Mukherjee underlined the importance of expanding coordination so as to
realise the potential of the group and its member states.
Mukherjee also participated in a 90-minute meeting of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue, which was attended by representatives of 28 countries. They adopted a report prepared by a small group of four countries on the future direction that the grouping should take.
The Defence Minister also met President of the General Assembly Sheikha Haya Rashed al-Khalifa and discussed issues that are expected to come up during the current session.
The two leaders also deliberated on developmental issues and the counter terrorism strategy adopted by the General Assembly in early September.
Both stressed on the need for reforming the United Nations and Al-Khalifa spoke of the importance of all member states in revitalising the world body.
Mukherjee also met Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdellah El-Khatib and both the leaders agreed that there was considerable scope in improving economic and commercial
cooperation between the two countries. They also discussed the situation in the Middle East.
Later, he met with Foreign Minister Maryam Aladji Diallo of Benin and Saleh Maky of Eritrea and assured both the countries of India's continued assistance in supporting their
development programmes.
Diallo appreciated the role being played by India in the international and regional affairs and expressed willingness to work with India to achieve the goal of comprehensive reforms of the UN Security Council.
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