Beijing, Oct 24 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who is in Beijing to attend the seventh Asia Europe Summit (ASEM), had a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Later in the day, Dr. Singh will also hold bilateral discussions with Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bulgaria President Georgi Parvanov and China President Hu Jintao in the next two days.

The two-day summit will take place in the Great Hall of the People.

This is the first time that India, Pakistan and Mongolia have been invited for the summit.

In May 2007, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had attended an ASEM ministerial meeting in Hamburg, Germany. (ANI)