"Both of us agreed that Pakistan-India relations were very important and that we needed to develop a level of trust," Kasuri said as he talked to the media along with Mukherjee after a lunch the latter hosted for him.
"I told him that I had developed trust with his two predecessors and I was looking forward to developing similar trust with him (Mukherjee), the Pakistani foreign minister said.
Mukherjee said this was not a formal visit of his Pakistani counterpart and that he would have the privilege of receiving him during the next Saarc summit. "It's a good opportunity for the two ministers to meet, get to know each other and establish a rapport since Mukherjee is new to the ministry," an Indian foreign ministry official said.
"There are many issues to talk about but structured discussions are unlikely," he said. Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmad Khan also attended the lunch. Mukherjee said he would go to Islamabad on January 13 and carry Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's letter inviting President Pervez Musharraf to the 14th Saarc summit to be held in Delhi.
"We will have some substantive talks at that point of time," the Indian external affairs minister said, adding that he would call on President Pervez Musharraf during his visit to Pakistan. Kasuri said he was happy that a very senior leader of the Congress party was in-charge of the ministry of external affairs.
"It gives me a great hope because whatever we have to do it requires peoples and politicians who are strong and after my meeting today I have greater hope," he said.
Kasuri said he looked forward to receiving Mukherjee in Islamabad on January 13. "We agreed on the date and I assured him of very warm welcome." Earlier, Kasuri met the former Indian external affairs minister K. Natwar Singh. He is here on a private visit to attend the wedding ceremony of the daughter of Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.