The United States on Friday described as “terrific news” the upcoming meeting between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

At her daily briefing, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said it was terrific news that India and Pakistan would be able to sit down and have a conversation. “We saw the reports about the positive messages being exchanged between Prime Minister Khan and also Prime Minister Modi, and we hope that the conditions will be set for a good, strong relationship, a good, strong bilateral relationship in the future,” she said.

On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that minister Sushma Swaraj will meet Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. This does not imply a resumption of dialogue between the two countries and said is “just a meeting”, said the ministry.

“Even now after so many years, we don’t have any official communication from Pakistani government that they are willing to consider this matter,” Minister of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. “The EAM will therefore raise this issue in her meeting with the Pakistan Foreign Minister on sidelines of UNGA.”

The UN General Assembly began on September 18 in New York and will conclude on September 30.

This came hours after it was reported that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the only way forward for the two countries is through “constructive engagement”. “Pakistan remains ready to discuss terrorism,” Khan wrote in a letter dated September 14. “Discussions on trade, people to people contacts, religious tourism, humanitarian issues are also important.”