Cameron and Zardari holding talks at Chequers

Prime Minister David Cameron and President Zardari of Pakistan will try to patch up their differences during formal talks at Chequers later. They will try to smooth tensions after the PM's recent comments that elements in Pakistan promoted terrorism. On Thursday night, Mr Zardari was Mr Cameron's guest at a private dinner at the country residence. Topics for discussion will include counter-terrorism co-operation, the Nato campaign in Afghanistan and trade.The prime minister caused anger in Pakistan last week when during a trip to India, he said elements in Pakistan should not be allowed to "promote the export of terror whether to India, whether to Afghanistan or to anywhere else in the world". Mr Cameron continues to stand by his comments but Mr Zardari said he would personally challenge him over the remarks during his visit. On Tuesday, Mr Zardari told French newspaper Le Monde the battle for the hearts and minds of ordinary Afghan people had already been lost. He is also under intense pressure to show he can talk tough to the British prime minister and justify his absence from his country, at a time when devastating floods have caused a national tragedy.BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall said it was unclear how far the leaders will be able to patch up their relationship. But our correspondent added it was also in the interests of both leaders to show that collaboration between Britain and Pakistan on a range of issued has not been damaged by the row. A Downing Street spokesman said: "It is an important opportunity to reinforce the strong links between the UK and Pakistan and continue to support stability, security, democracy and prosperity in Pakistan." He added that the talks would cover the "full range of shared interests" that exist between the two countries. On terrorism, the spokesman said: "The leaders are expected to discuss the threat, review on-going efforts, and explore what more can be done. "The UK already has a significant programme of counter-terrorism assistance in Pakistan with Foreign Office counter-terrorism assistance rising to £9.5m in 2010/11." The men would also discuss about the international response to the floods. The UK has already donated £5m through Unicef on top of £5m donated to the Pakistan Emergency Response Fund. The spokesman added: "The PM and the President are likely to discuss how we can boost bilateral trade from its current levels of around £1bn of trade flows annually." President Zardari has already held talks with three other ministers. But no details have yet been released about those meetings - with Conservative Party chairman Baroness Warsi, Home Secretary Theresa May and Education Secretary Michael Gove.