Dec 07 , 2015
News
Indian FM Sushma Swaraj to visit Pakistan tomorrow
ISLAMABAD: India Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj will arrive in Islamabad tomorrow (Tuesday) to attend the 'Heart of Asia' regional security conference on Afghanistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said on Monday.
"At Pakistan's invitation, the Indian foreign minister will arrive in Islamabad tomorrow to attend the Heart of Asia conference,” Sartaj told reporters at a press conference here today.
This will be the first visit by India's top diplomat to Pakistan in three years.
"This is a good beginning, that the deadlock that was present has to some extent been removed," Sartaj told reporters.
According to Indian media, Swaraj will be accompanied by Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar during her visit, which will be the first significant engagement between India and Pakistan since the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PM Narendra Modi in July at Ufa earlier this year.
The prime ministers of the two neighbouring countries also met in a brief encounter last week during the UN Conference of Parties (CoP) 21 climate summit in Paris.
Swaraj is expected will call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and hold talks with her counterpart Sartaj Aziz on the sidelines of the multilateral conference.
Spokesman for the Indian External Affairs Ministry, Vikas Swarup, also confirmed Swaraj's in a tweet from his official account.
Afghan president to arrive on Wednesday
The following day, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will arrive in the capital to attend the regional security conference, Sartaj said.
Sartaj said that top-level meetings will also be held in Islamabad on the sidelines of the 'Heart of Asia' conference.
Swaraj's visit is the first ministerial-level visit to Pakistan since the then foreign minister, SM Krishna, travelled to Islamabad in 2012, which was before Modi became prime minister.
In an important breakthrough on Sunday, the National Security Advisers (NSA) of the Pakistan and India met for a lengthy meeting in Bangkok.
The meeting in a third country, which was kept secret, resulted in a much-needed agreement where both countries agreed to "carry forward the constructive engagement".
"(The NSAs) were guided by the vision of the two leaders for a peaceful, stable and prosperous South Asia.Discussions covered peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, and other issues, including tranquility along the LoC.It was agreed to carry forward the constructive engagement," read a joint statement released by the pakistani Foreign Office after the meeting.
The Heart of Asia meeting is being in Islamabad on December 9 (Wednesday).
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk