Expressing the hope that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would hold talks in New York next month on the sidelines of the United Nation's General Assembly session, Pakistan on Friday said such interactions would help in defusing tension and creating congenial atmosphere for furtherance of bilateralism.

Observing that the peace process with India has been moving forward successfully, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said that both countries have taken positive positions on contentious issues in the dialogue held so far.

Kasuri in an informal chat with newspersons in Islamabad on Friday said in the next phase of the composite dialogue process, he would meet his Indian counterpart K Natwar Singh in New Delhi on September 5-6.

The meeting would take stock of the dialogue process held between the officials of the two countries on eight identified issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, and set guidelines for future negotiations.

He expressed hope that Musharraf and Singh would take steps to take forward the ongoing process of building confidence between the two countries and help find ways to resolve the Kashmir issue when they meet in New York.

"Such sideline meetings always prove helpful in defusing tension and creating a congenial atmosphere for furtherance of bilateralism," Kasuri was quoted as saying.