Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over lunch on April 8 in New Delhi during a daylong private visit to India.
Though this is a visit to primarily offer prayers at the shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz in Ajmer, the President accepted an invitation from Dr. Singh for lunch in New Delhi en route to Ajmer Sharif.
This was announced here late Sunday night by the Presidency. Earlier in the day, the Presidency had said that an India visit was on the cards for Mr. Zardari but his office maintained that the date and details of the trip were yet to be finalised; indicating the possibility of a high-level meeting.
This is the first time Mr. Zardari is travelling to India after taking over as President in 2008 and the first presidential visit since his predecessor Pervez Musharraf's official visit in 2005.
Mr. Zardari's India visit comes at a time when the two countries are inching towards better trade relations and attempting to address outstanding issues through the resumed composite dialogue process.