Nitish Kumar favours frequent exchanges to bolster Indo-Pak ties

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who returned from a week-long visit to Pakistan today said he found strong desire for people-to-people contact there which could be bolstered by frequent exchanges.

"There should be frequent exchanges of goodwill visits by political leaders, intelligentsia and mediapersons of the two countries to foster strong bilateral relations," he told reporters at Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport here.

There should also be increased frequency of the exchange of cultural delegations between India and Pakistan as part of the people-to-people contact.

Kumar, who returned yesterday to New Delhi from his maiden visit to Pakistan, said he observed a strong desire among the Pakistani people for good relations with those in India during interactions with the people and political leaders there.

He said the people in Pakistan were interested to know in detail about the mantra of governance and development agenda, particularly in areas of education, poverty alleviation, health, polio eradication and empowerment in Bihar.

He said he too had imbibed some important aspects of development works in Pakistan that could be put to use for improvement of the life of the people in the state.

The chief minister said he was humbled by the warmth, affection and respect showered on him and on members of his delegation in Pakistan. "Never for a minute during my stay in Pakistan did I feel that I was away from my country."

The dinner hosted by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari was 'heart warming' and the visit was a 'significant achievement' in his political journey.