UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan arrives in India today to begin a round of meetings with government leaders over festering tensions with Pakistan, nuclear proliferation and reforms in the United Nations.
Mr Annan, on a tour through South Asia, has urged India and Pakistan to end their nuclear arms race and move towards talks to resolve long-running issues including the territorial dispute over Kashmir.
Indian leaders have been encouraged by Mr Annan's comments in Islamabad that mediation on the Kashmir row was pointless unless New Delhi agreed to it.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who has ordered a unilateral ceasefire against Muslim rebels in the strife-torn Himalayan territory, said Mr Annan's remarks were a sign that the world was beginning to recognise its efforts to resolve the decade-old revolt.
India, which considers all of Kashmir an integral part of the country, has consistently refused third party mediation, and says it is ready to discuss the row with Pakistan, provided it stops supporting the rebels.
Islamabad, which denies direct involvement in the Kashmir revolt, urged Mr Annan to intervene in the dispute in accordance with decades-old UN resolutions which call for a plebiscite in the region.