Dec 08 , 2015
NewsCivil-military leaders discuss agenda of 'Heart of Asia' conference
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday chaired a high-level civil-military meeting to discuss the agenda of the 'Heart of Asia' regional conference being held in the capital.
The meeting at the PM House was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, National Security Advisor Lt Gen (retd) Nasir Janjua, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, PM’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, and PM’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi.
The meeting discussed matters related to the multilateral conference and also the upcoming visit of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who is due to arrive in Islamabad tomorrow to attend the conference.
National Security Advisor Nasir Janjua briefed the meeting about the progress made at the recent NSA-level talks between Pakistan and India.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj will also attend the Islamabad gathering and is due to arrive in Pakistan later today.
The first visit by India's top diplomat to Pakistan in three years raises hopes that relations between the neighbours might improve. The national security advisers of both countries met on the weekend in Bangkok, three months after cancelling talks.
PM, COAS meet one-on-one
Later, the prime minister and Army chief also held a separate one-on-one meeting. The two leaders discussed matters relating to national security and exchanged views on the prevailing situation in the region, the PM House said.
The two-day 'Heart of Asia' meeting, an annual gathering of Asian and other countries, is expected to focus on energy, infrastructure and investment deals to shore up commitment to Afghanistan.
This year, the Heart of Asia conference will be attended by representatives from ten different countries and is being hosted by Pakistan for the first time.
Courtesy www.geo.tv