NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday that both he and Pakistan’s prime minister-designate Nawaz Sharif wanted to take bilateral relations forward and resolve outstanding issues peacefully.

The Press Trust of India said Dr Singh told journalists on his way back from Japan and Thailand that both leaders had invited each other to visit their countries but dates had not been fixed yet.

“I rang up Prime Minister Sharif on the very first day the election results were coming out. I conveyed my congratulations to him and I reciprocated his sentiments that India-Pakistan relations should move forward.

“I also invited him to visit India. He also invited me to visit Pakistan. There is an invitation from the Government of Pakistan for me to visit Pakistan.

“There is no firm decision on either side. No dates have been fixed but we would certainly like to have good neighbourly relations with Pakistan.”

Indian analysts have been debating Mr Sharif’s poll-time comments with Indian journalists in which he had promised to fix responsibility for the Kargil fiasco.

He also offered to share details with India of the Mumbai terror attack being investigated in Pakistan. Analysts feel Mr Sharif could find it difficult to carry the army with him on fulfilling his promise to Indian journalists.