External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday did not rule out an informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 18th annual South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ( SAARC) Summit.
“Wait till tomorrow for these issues,” Swaraj told the media in Kathmandu when asked about the possibility of a meeting between the two Prime Ministers.
Earlier on Sunday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said that India is for ‘cooperative and peaceful ties’ with Pakistan.
Akbaruddin said that Prime Minister Modi is keen ‘to have meaningful dialogues with as many south Asian colleagues as possible’.
“Prime Minister’s intention is to have meaningful dialogue with as many of our South Asian colleagues as possible. This would mean, taking into account all aspects of our relationship. This is a work in progress, in terms of scheduling, in terms of how we work out with other leaders and their priorities as well as our intent to have meaningful dialogue,” he added.
The Indian Government had earlier in August cancelled the Foreign Secretary-level talks after Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit held talks with Kashmiri separatists ahead of the proposed meeting. (ANI)