Thawing relations: Indian foreign minister due next week
SM Krishna will hold talks with Hina Rabbani during his three-day trip.
ISLAMABAD:
The Indian foreign minister is arriving in Pakistan next week on a three-day visit to review progress made so far in the peace process between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
According to a Foreign Office statement issued on Friday, Indian Minister for External Affairs SM Krishna will visit Pakistan from September 7-9 for talks with his counterpart in Islamabad, Hina Rabbani Khar. The two countries’ foreign secretaries will also meet on September 7 to finalise the agenda for the high-level talks, the statement added.
The two foreign ministers will meet for a second time in a week following recent talks on the sidelines of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran. Their talks were followed by a meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Iranian capital.
Zardari told Singh that Pakistan keenly awaited his visit at an early date. The Indian premier, however, responded that he would visit the country at an appropriate time.
Reports say Singh called for Islamabad to take decisive action against the suspects of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. He said the expeditious conclusion of the suspects’ trial in Pakistan would be a major confidence-booster for bilateral ties between the rival neighbours.
Relations between Pakistan and India have significantly improved in recent years. However, the two sides have yet to achieve any major breakthrough, largely due to a trust deficit reinforced over the years.
Nevertheless, the two countries concluded a new visa regime earlier this year that seeks to facilitate travel and trade between the two neighbors.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who accompanied President Zardari at the NAM summit, said the new visa accord was expected to be signed during Krishna’s upcoming visit.
A foreign office official told The Express Tribune that the two foreign ministers will not only review the second round of resumed peace talks but also finalise the roadmap for the next phase of discussions.
The second round of the peace process was supposed to culminate in a meeting of foreign ministers in July but talks were postponed after dates clashed with the Indian presidential elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2012.
The Indian foreign minister is arriving in Pakistan next week on a three-day visit to review progress made so far in the peace process between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
According to a Foreign Office statement issued on Friday, Indian Minister for External Affairs SM Krishna will visit Pakistan from September 7-9 for talks with his counterpart in Islamabad, Hina Rabbani Khar. The two countries’ foreign secretaries will also meet on September 7 to finalise the agenda for the high-level talks, the statement added.
The two foreign ministers will meet for a second time in a week following recent talks on the sidelines of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran. Their talks were followed by a meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Iranian capital.
Zardari told Singh that Pakistan keenly awaited his visit at an early date. The Indian premier, however, responded that he would visit the country at an appropriate time.
Reports say Singh called for Islamabad to take decisive action against the suspects of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. He said the expeditious conclusion of the suspects’ trial in Pakistan would be a major confidence-booster for bilateral ties between the rival neighbours.
Relations between Pakistan and India have significantly improved in recent years. However, the two sides have yet to achieve any major breakthrough, largely due to a trust deficit reinforced over the years.
Nevertheless, the two countries concluded a new visa regime earlier this year that seeks to facilitate travel and trade between the two neighbors.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who accompanied President Zardari at the NAM summit, said the new visa accord was expected to be signed during Krishna’s upcoming visit.
A foreign office official told The Express Tribune that the two foreign ministers will not only review the second round of resumed peace talks but also finalise the roadmap for the next phase of discussions.
The second round of the peace process was supposed to culminate in a meeting of foreign ministers in July but talks were postponed after dates clashed with the Indian presidential elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2012.