Islamabad (PTI): Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani on Wednesday said Pakistan and India need to resolve all outstanding problems, including the "core issue of Kashmir", so that both countries can focus their energies on the shared problems of poverty and food and energy shortages.

Pakistan is committed to the peace process with India and wants to "further improve and strengthen relations", Gillani told visiting External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who called on him at the Prime Minister's Secretariat.

During their 40-minute meeting, the two leaders discussed the ongoing peace process between the two countries. Various confidence-building measures, including cross-LoC initiatives, figured in their discussion.

"It is gratifying to note that the process of Composite Dialogue has led to an increase in people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges and enhanced communication links between the two countries," Gillani said, adding both countries should "continue to undertake CBMs to make the peace process a success".

The "fact that a popularly elected government is in place in Pakistan augurs well for the improvement of relations between the two countries", Gillani was quoted as saying in an official statement.

He said Pakistan and India need to resolve all outstanding issues, including the "core issue of Kashmir", so that they can focus their energies on the shared problems of poverty and food and energy shortages.

Noting that India and Pakistan "have been victims of terrorism and have lost their popular leaders at the hands of terrorists", he said Islamabad had "strongly condemned" the recent blasts in Jaipur and expressed its "deep condolences over the tragic loss of life and property" in the Indian city.

Mukherjee, who was here to review the fourth round of the Composite Dialogue, called on President Pervez Musharraf at the presidency earlier in the day.