Pakistan PM arrives in India to 'open arms' welcome
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Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf (left) shakes hands with Indian Foreign minister Salman Khurshid at a hotel in Jaipur on Saturday, March 9, 2013. Mr Ashraf arrived in India on Saturday for a pilgrimage to a revered Muslim shrine, with Mr Khurshid welcoming him with "open arms". -- PHOTO: AFP
JAIPUR (AFP) - Pakistan's premier Raja Pervez Ashraf arrived in India on Saturday for a pilgrimage to a revered Muslim shrine, with Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid welcoming him with "open arms".
Mr Khurshid's warm words for Mr Ashraf - making his first visit to India as prime minister - come despite strained relations between the nuclear-armed rivals over recent border clashes.
"It's in our culture to welcome our guests with open arms," said Mr Khurshid ahead of a lunch he will host for Mr Ashraf at the Rambagh Palace, a luxury heritage hotel in the tourist city of Jaipur in northern India.
An Indian foreign ministry official told AFP however there would be no "substantive talks" at the meeting.
