India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram met on Saturday for talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Rehman Malik, warning terrorism posed the most significant "challenge" to security in South Asia. Chidambaram and Malik met on the sidelines of a South Asia Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) meeting in Bhutanese capital Thimpu, their second one-to-one interaction since an encounter in Islamabad last year, the Press Trust of India said.

Malik told reporters the meeting was "very good" and held in a "very cordial atmosphere," the news agency quoted him as saying. He said issues of mutual interest were discussed, without disclosing details. There was no immediate comment from the Indian delegation attending the meeting, which came ahead of foreign minister-level peace talks set for this Tuesday in New Delhi between India and Pakistan.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011