"India and Pakistan stand to benefit from practical cooperation, and we encourage them to engage in direct dialogue aimed at reducing tensions," a State Department spokesperson told PTI.
"The pace, scope, and character of any discussions on Kashmir is for the two sides to determine, but we support any and all positive steps India and Pakistan can take to forge closer relations," the official said.
"We encourage all sides to make efforts towards finding a peaceful resolution," the official said.
The spokesperson, however, refrained from responding to the allegations of the Union Transportation Minister Nitin Gadkari that Pakistan is exporting terror to India with the sinister design of vitiating the favourable climate which the Narendra Modi government has successfully created for global investors.
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Instead, both India and Pakistan should fight the common enemy - poverty, backwardness and unemployment - through collective efforts and cooperation in socio-economic fields, Gadkari said.