New Delhi
26 April 2011
Just as the Nawaz Sharif - IK Gujral meeting in Maldives on the margins of the
1997 Saarc summit paved the way for Atal Behari Vajpayee's Lahore visit in February
two years later, a meeting between prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousaf Raza
Gilani in Maldives on the occasion of the 17th Saarc summit in November may not only
serve to keep the Mohali spirit alive but also revive hopes of an early visit by Mr Singh
to Pakistan.
Coming as it would after the scheduled meetings between their foreign ministers and the
full complement of official-level talks, a Gilani - Manmohan encounter in Maldives would
cap the year's engagements since both sides agreed to in February to resume the
stalled peace talks. It would also provide an opportunity for a review of the bilateral
relations at the highest level.
The commerce secretaries of India and Pakistan will begin two-day talks in Islamabad
Wednesday. Over the coming weeks, the surveyors- general and the secretaries of water
resources and defence of the two countries will meet as per the time-table agreed to by
foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistan counterpart Salman Bashir at Thimphu
in February this year.
If the dialogues proceed without serious hiccups, Prime Minister Singh could be tempted
to visit Pakistan before or after his visit to Iran for participating in the 16th NAM (Non-
Aligned Movement) summit to be held at Isfahan in 2012. It may be recalled that Mr
Gilani had invited the Indian prime minister to visit Pakistan during their conversations
at Mohali.
Besides the much-anticipated Singh-Gilani encore in Maldives after their previous
encounters in Mohali and Thimphu, this year's Saarc summit would be unique in another
respect: It would be the first time the eight-nation regional grouping will hold a summit
south of the Equator.
Speaking in an interview to this newspaper, visiting foreign minister Ahmed Naseem of
Maldives says the southernmost atoll of Addu, which will host the summit, lies in the
southern hemisphere. It was Mr Naseem's first visit abroad after his appointment as
foreign minister in March.
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