NEW DELHI, Jan 24: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that talks with Pakistan are progressing "in the right direction" despite threats of terror attacks from across the border, Indian news agencies quoted him on Wednesday as telling the Russian journalists.

In a reference to the problems of terrorism and drug trafficking that India and Russia could fight jointly, Dr Singh appeared to point towards Afghanistan but there was nothing to indicate that he did not also mean to point the finger at Pakistan.

"The rise of religious extremism and terrorism is of particular concern today. Our neighbourhood provides the biggest infrastructure for perpetrating terrorism, religious extremism and drug-trafficking the world over," the Press Trust of India quoted him as saying. "We, therefore, have a profound interest in controlling these dangerous forces for the benefit of the international community, as well as for ensuring our internal security."

Speaking to the Russian media ahead of President Vladimir Putin's visit from Thursday, Dr Singh said India would like to be associated with the Shanghai Cooperation's initiatives that promote economic, energy, educational and cultural cooperation as well as those directed against terrorism and trafficking in drugs.