United States President George W Bush [Images] on Saturday held talks with his Pakistani counterpart General Pervez Musharraf [Images] in Islamabad after a colourful ceremony to welcome the American leader.

Bush, who arrived in the Pakistan capital on Friday night following a three-day visit to India, held one-to-one talks with Musharraf at President House amid tight security.

The one-on-one talks were followed by delegation-level discussions covering a variety of issues, including the emerging close ties between India and the US, especially the just finalised civilian nuclear energy cooperation deal.

Pakistan has said it seeks a similar arrangement from the US.

Image: President Bush, General Musharraf and Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at the welcome ceremony at President House, Islamabad. Neither Musharraf nor Aziz greeted Bush at Islamabad airport, citing security reasons.

Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images