Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh has said that Indian Consulate would reopen in Karachi by the end of December 2005 or early January next year.
The issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens for visiting India will start after the Consulate starts functioning, he told newsmen after a 20-minute meeting with Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan at Governor House on Tuesday evening shortly after arrival from Islamabad on two-day visit to Karachi.
He said Khokhrapar-Munabao rail link between Sindh and Rajasthan as well as ferry service between Karachi and Mumbai would also start soon.
He said relations between both countries were progressing towards improvement.
The Sindh governor, welcoming the visit of Singh to Karachi, said it was delightful that atmosphere of peace and understanding was taking roots and with all certainty the process would keep progressing.
Earlier during the meeting, Dr Ibad told Singh that work on Khokhrapar-Munabao rail and road links would be completed by December this year. He briefed about Karachi and Sindh province. Karachi has become economic hub of the region, he added.
The Sindh Governor and Indian external affairs minister agreed that people in both countries had great interest in each other's cultural activities.
Later, Singh saw historic room at the Governor House which Founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah used as his office.
Sindh Senior Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed, Chief Secretary Fazlur Rehman, Foreign Office officials, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and High Commissioner Shiv Shankar Menon were also present.
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