New Delhi, May 27 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif met here Tuesday.

Modi received Sharif at the stately Hyderabad House with warmth, clasping his hands for a few moments as the two leaders posed for photographs.

Ahead of the meeting, Sharif said at the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi that he had come to India to “build better ties”.

Modi also met Presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives and Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka here Tuesday.

In his first official meetings after taking charge as prime minister, Modi first met Karzai and then the others at the stately Hyderabad House, officials said.

Modi, who took oath as prime minister Monday, will meet all leaders from the SAARC countries as well as Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam.

All of them attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Monday.

Officials termed the interactions Tuesday as “courtesy meetings” without any structured agenda.

Sharif and other leaders of SAARC nations as well as Mauritius attended Modi’s swearing in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan Monday evening.