No bilateral meeting has been fixed between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani during next week’s SAARC summit in Thimphu.
“As of now there is no such meeting,” Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said at a press conference here on Thursday.
But Dr. Singh would have bilateral meetings with the leaders from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan during the April 28-29 summit, which marks 25 years of the establishment of the SAARC.
Ms. Rao restated the Indian position that the situation was not conductive to resumption of the composite dialogue between India and Pakistan. There was no change in the situation. India wanted movement in the trial in Pakistan of the terrorists involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Infiltration remained a cause of concern as did the activities of terrorists operating from Pakistan soil.
Ms. Rao said Islamabad was yet to respond to New Delhi’s dossiers containing information on terrorists and terror groups involved in anti-India activities. The dossiers had been given during the Foreign Secretary-level talks here in February.
As for the possibility of a meeting between Dr. Singh and Mr. Gilani in Thimpu, the Foreign Secretary said she did not want to make any forecast. “But let me say, dialogue is always useful,” especially for neighbours such as India and Pakistan.
New Delhi took the position at the Foreign Secretary-level talks that dialogue represented a concrete method to move forward the relationship. As of now India had not heard from Pakistan on the next round, she said.
Two agreements
In Bhutan, where the Summit is being held for the first time, two agreements, on environment and trade in services, will be signed. The trade in services pact will enable the realisation of the region’s immense potential in the areas of health, hospitality, communication, computer and information services and air transport.
The SAARC Convention on Environment is expected to promote cooperation among the member-countries in environment and sustainable development.
The SAARC Development Fund (SDF) Secretariat, proposed by India in 2008, will be inaugurated in the summit. The meet is also expected to endorse the rules, regulations, and academic and business plans of the South Asian University in New Delhi.
Over the years, the SAARC has emerged as a model of regional cooperation in dealing with poverty, food security, trafficking in women and children, terrorism and drugs.
