Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar (R) shakes hands with Indian counterpart Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna before their meeting in New Delhi July 27, 2011. India's and Pakistan's foreign ministers hold talks in New Delhi, the latest in a series of high-level meetings between the nuclear armed countries aimed at bringing peace to the world's most dangerous region. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW DELHI - The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan called Wednesday for a new spirit of cooperation between their nuclear-armed nations as they met for the first time since peace talks resumed earlier this year.

While no major breakthroughs on their thorny disputes were expected, officials said they hoped the high-level meeting would help build confidence and trust between neighbors that have fought three wars since 1947.

"India looks for a cooperative relationship with Pakistan. It is in the interest of peace not only for our two countries, but for the entire region and beyond," India's foreign minister, S.M. Krishna, told reporters before the meeting. "We would love to see a stable, smooth and prosperous Pakistan."

Pakistan's newly installed foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, said her country was looking for a "friendly and cooperative relationship with India" that is not "held hostage to the past."

The meeting was a major milestone in the new round of peace talks that began in February. India suspended an earlier round of talks after 10 Pakistani-based gunmen laid siege to the city of Mumbai in 2008, killing 166 people. India has argued that Pakistani intelligence helped plan that attack and that Pakistan has not done enough to crack down on those behind it.

Despite a July 13 triple bombing in Mumbai that killed 20 people, neither side backed away from the new round of talks. India's investigation into that attack has focused on a shadowy domestic terror group reportedly linked to Pakistani militants, but top government officials have been reluctant to point fingers, calling for patience as the investigation proceeds.

The two countries' foreign ministers last met a year ago in Islamabad in a tense meeting that erupted into accusations that both sides were fomenting terror attacks on each other.

The mood Wednesday - at least before the meeting - appeared far more cordial, with the foreign ministers smiling and shaking hands.

The talks, expected to focus on security, increasing cross-border commerce and loosening visa restrictions, came a day after the countries' foreign secretaries met.

Khar and Krishna were also expected to review progress already made on security as well as the division of water resources.

Since February, Indian and Pakistani officials have discussed a range of issues including terrorism threats, cooperation on the Mumbai investigation and the divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir, which both sides claim in its entirety.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told reporters Tuesday in Islamabad that the talks were the "only way forward to improve ties with India."