Author: India Writes Network

India-Pakistan thaw? Modi, Sharif to talk in Russia about talks

- by India Writes Network

It’s official! Ending feverish speculation over the last few days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO summit in the Russian city of Ufa on July 10.
The last time the leaders of the two countries held talks was during the visit of Nawaz Sharif to New Delhi to attend the inauguration of the Modi government. At that time, they spoke about ushering in a new chapter in bilateral ties but those hopes were belied when Pakistan’s High Commissioner invited Kashmiri separatist leaders, which was immediately denounced by New Delhi and cited as the reason for cancelling the talks between the foreign secretaries in August last year.
Finally, Prime Minister Modi’s telephone call to Mr Sharif to greet him before the holy month of Ramzan broke the ice, fueling speculation about a possible meeting in Ufa. The agenda for talks is not clear, but it is expected to focus on exploring possibilities for revival of limited dialogue between the two countries. Mr Sharif is expected to invite Mr Modi to Islamabad for the 19th SAARC summit his country will hold in 2016.

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India-China ties: Lakhvi ghost shadows Modi-Xi talks, but focus on bright new future

- by India Writes Network

The ghost of 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-RehmanLakhvi hung in the winter air in Ufa as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the twin summits, a meeting that was marked by much bonhomie despite the discordant note struck by Beijing over the Lakhvi issue.

Significantly, this was the fifth meeting between the two leaders in a year, bilaterally and on the margins of various multilateral summits, which underlines a new phase of intense and accelerated engagement between the two Asian giants, which are often viewed through the Western prism of rivalry and competition.

The meeting saw Mr Modi fondly reminiscing about his visit to Xian, China’s fabled city of Terracotta Warriors and home province of the Chinese president, in May this year, and his wide-ranging talks with the Chinese leader on the future trajectory of relations between the two Asian powers.

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