India’s foreign minister said Wednesday that a “trust deficit” with Pakistan was shrinking as he headed for a regional summit, in a clear sign of warming relations between the neighbours.

“The trust deficit with Pakistan is shrinking,” S.M. Krishna said on board his flight to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in the Maldives, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Referring to a “very positive atmosphere” between the countries, he also said that it was necessary for Pakistan and India to develop a joint strategy in order to fight terror in the region, the agency reported.

The last meeting in July between Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart, Hina Rabbani Khar, ended with talk of a “new era” of cooperation after the ruptures of the past.

Last week, Pakistan’s cabinet announced it had approved a proposal giving India the status of “most favoured nation” which would help open the highly restricted flow of goods over their border.

Relations between two countries that have fought three wars since independence in 1947 are of vital importance for stability in the region and the world.