PM Nawaz arrives in Nepal to attend SAARC summit

18th SAARC Summit set to begin in Kathmandu on Wednesday

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Nepal on Tuesday to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit, Express News reported. 

Nepal's deputy prime minister received PM Nawaz upon arrival.

The premier is expected to attend a meeting of Saarc foreign ministers today (Tuesday), which aims to finalise the agenda for the two-day Saarc summit on Wednesday.

PM Nawaz will be representing Pakistan at the 18th Saarc Summit which will begin in Kathmandu tomorrow.

Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, who will also represent Pakistan at the ministerial meeting, rejected speculation of a Nawaz-Modi meeting while clarifying that there was no plan for a bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

However, he added a meeting between the two leaders could be arranged if Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made a request and said it was up to India to have ‘informal talks’ with Pakistan.

The theme of the summit tomorrow is ‘Deeper Integration for Peace and Prosperity.’

Prime Minister Nawaz will also be meeting other leaders of Saarc countries and will be holding discussions on issues of bilateral and regional interests.

In a statement made by the prime minister before departure, he said that Pakistan wants peace and stability in the region.

He also said that he wanted to transform Saarc into a strong trade and economic bloc based on the pattern of European Union, adding that this would only be possible in an environment of peace and economic cooperation.