Amid positive indications of first summit level political contact between Islamabad and New Delhi in New York, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday that "this will be a further step in the ongoing dialogue process with Pakistan.
Manmohan Singh, who left here for a nine-day visit to US, will hold maiden parleys with President Musharraf on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly session in New York on September 24.
Indian Prime Minister will have a breakfast meeting with US President George W Bush on September 21. He would also hold meetings with leaders from Afghanistan, Japan, Germany and Brazil.
The Singh-Musharraf meeting follows the official-level talks on eight identified issues, including occupied Kashmir, between the two countries under the composite dialogue process, which was reviewed by Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri and his Indian counterpart K Natwar Singh in New Delhi earlier this month.
Manmohan Singh is accompanied by External Affairs Minister, K Natwar Singh, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and National Security Adviser, J N Dixit besides other senior officials.
Manmohan Singh was seen off at his official residence by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, his cabinet colleagues, three service chiefs and top officials. Among those present at the departure ceremony included Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, Shivraj Patil, Ghulam Nabi and, Ram Vilas Paswan, Chandrasekhar Rao, Jaipal Reddy, Kapil Sibal and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.