Washington: The US today (Jan 5, 2004) welcomed the meeting between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Summit and hoped it would lead to "further engagements and dialogue" between both the countries.

"We warmly welcome the meeting between Vajpayee and Musharraf and other senior level meetings. We hope it would lead to further engagements and dialogue between both the countries," US State Department Deputy Spokesman A J Adam Ereli told reporters.

"The fact that Vajpayee and Musharraf met is noteworthy. As to the substance of the meeting, we leave that to the parties to comment," he said.