VOA标准英语2010年-Indian, Pakistani Foreign Ministers to

Ministers agree to bridge trust deficit¹ between two countries, and create an ‘enabling environment’

Anjana Pasricha | New Delhi 11 May 2010
 

Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna, right, talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the sidelines of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit in Thimpu, Bhutan, 27 April 2010

 

In yet another sign of improving ties between India and Pakistan, the foreign ministers of the South Asian rivals have announced plans to hold talks in mid² July.

The announcement that India's foreign minister S.M. Krishna will head to Islamabad on July 15 for a dialogue with his Pakistani counterpart was made following a telephone conversation between the two ministers.

Krishna said he has accepted an invitation from the Pakistani foreign minister and is looking forward to the talks.   

"Let us hope these talks will be helpful in bringing our two countries closer together, bringing our two countries the cordiality that all of us desire, and let us hope that our effort will be fruitful," Krishna said.

The decision to hold the dialogue is a signal that New Delhi is ready to normalize ties with Pakistan in the wake of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai which prompted India to put on hold a peace process. Contacts between the two countries have since been limited.

The July 15 meeting is expected to focus on how to reopen the stalled peace dialogue.

Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi says both ministers had a good phone conversation. He said they felt that it is important to bridge the trust deficit between the two countries, and create an "enabling environment" for a dialogue.  

"We will build it from here, recognizing the challenges, recognizing the fact that it is not going to be easy, recognizing the fact that is not going to be easy, recognizing the fact that there are no quick fixes, but sincerity³ is there," says Qureshi.

Qureshi says he will travel to New Delhi for a further round of talks after the July 15 meeting.

Another high-level interaction between the two countries will take place next month when the Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram will hold bilateral⁴ talks when he visits Islamabad on June 26 for a regional meeting.

India had earlier said that it could only normalize ties if Islamabad acts against the planners of the Mumbai attacks, which it blames on Pakistan-based militants⁵.

But the thaw⁶ in their ties was evident when the prime ministers of the two countries agreed to draw up a road map for future talks when they met on the sidelines of a regional summit.

The Indian Prime Minister is said to be in favor of trying to build bridges with Pakistan. The United States has also been urging both countries to return to the negotiating table.

The relations between the neighbors are troubled by their dispute over Kashmir and Indian accusations⁷ that Pakistan does not do enough to stop Pakistan-based Islamic militants from mounting terror attacks in India.
 

1 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

2 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

3 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

4 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。