connectivity, railways and a framework for energy cooperation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, Thursday shook hands and met briefly during a retreat at the Saarc Summit. “Yes, they have met and shook hands at the retreat,” Nepal foreign minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey told IANS over phone from Dhulikhel, where the retreat is being held on the second day of the two-day event. Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told PTI, “The two leaders exchanged pleasantries when they met for the first time after arriving in Nepal.” The leaders gathered at Dhulikhel in Kavre district, 30km east of the Nepalese capital, for the traditional Saarc retreat on the concluding day of the two-day summit. They reportedly held private, unofficial talks in a relaxed and more informal atmosphere. Sources said all the leaders met in informal settings and talked about various regional issues. The Saarc foreign ministers, including Sushma Swaraj, India’s external affairs minister, and Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan PM’s advisor on foreign affairs and national security, were also present at the retreat. Saarc retreats are ideally organised outside the summit venue in resorts and hotels where the leaders can relax and discuss the bilateral and multilateral agendas. India had said Wednesday a ‘structured dialogue’ between Modi and Sharif was not planned as there was no request from Pakistan. India suspended foreign secretary-level talks after the Pakistan envoy met Kashmiri separatists. India had stressed in the past that it was open to dialogue with Pakistan only if the neighbour country took the first step. Sharif had said recently that “ball is now India’s court for talks between both the countries”. Issuing a 36-point declaration, the summit will come to an end later in the day after giving the final touch to the Kathmandu Declaration. Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koriala will formally announce the closure of the 18th Saarc summit, Nepal’s foreign ministry said. All heads of state and government will be present during the closing ceremony of the summit. Even as the energy-related agreement was signed, negotiations for the Saarc motor vehicle and railway accords might be completed within three months and signed during the next meeting of the Saarc Council of Ministers six months later. The member states also agreed to strengthen the Kathmandu-based Saarc Secretariat and to set up a mechanism to curb terrorism, religious fundamentalism and religious extremism. Several sub-committees will be formed to implement the past accords and agreements. All eight Saarc leaders expressed frustration on Wednesday with the slow pace of progress towards greater regional integration, which new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called a failure of political will. Bangladesh also confirmed a final push to convince Pakistan in time for the summit’s closing declaration later in the day. Analysts have blamed Saarc’s failure on the mutual mistrust between Pakistan and regional powerhouse India, which has taken a more assertive stance toward its northern neighbour since the election of a new government in May. Analysts blame their rivalry and poor infrastructure for the very low levels of regional trade among the eight Saarc nations—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Trade between them has grown from under $140 million in 2008 to $878 million in 2012, but still accounts for less than 5% of the region’s total commerce. India and Pakistan have been trying for years to reach a bilateral agreement for energy sharing across their heavily militarised border in Punjab, but the deal has faced resistance from Pakistan’s army. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and last month exchanges of fire across the border in disputed Kashmir killed 20 people. Transit is so restricted across the border that large volumes of Indian goods can only reach Pakistan via Dubai. Also last month, Pakistan agreed on electricity transit fees with Afghanistan, a step towards importing energy from Central Asia. The squabbling between India and Pakistan has held back Saarc for years, with the two sides’ disagreements preventing progress in the consensus-based grouping. Modi is keen to make South Asia a viable counterweight to China and on Wednesday warned that regional integration would happen “through Saarc or outside it, among us all or some of us.” China is an observer at Saarc, and vice-foreign minister Liu Zhenmin has promised $30 billion for road building in the region over five years, and suggested increasing trade to $150 billion in the same period. — PTI, IANS
Friday, November 28, 2014
SAARC countries sign energy deal:Daily Sun
connectivity, railways and a framework for energy cooperation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, Thursday shook hands and met briefly during a retreat at the Saarc Summit. “Yes, they have met and shook hands at the retreat,” Nepal foreign minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey told IANS over phone from Dhulikhel, where the retreat is being held on the second day of the two-day event. Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told PTI, “The two leaders exchanged pleasantries when they met for the first time after arriving in Nepal.” The leaders gathered at Dhulikhel in Kavre district, 30km east of the Nepalese capital, for the traditional Saarc retreat on the concluding day of the two-day summit. They reportedly held private, unofficial talks in a relaxed and more informal atmosphere. Sources said all the leaders met in informal settings and talked about various regional issues. The Saarc foreign ministers, including Sushma Swaraj, India’s external affairs minister, and Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan PM’s advisor on foreign affairs and national security, were also present at the retreat. Saarc retreats are ideally organised outside the summit venue in resorts and hotels where the leaders can relax and discuss the bilateral and multilateral agendas. India had said Wednesday a ‘structured dialogue’ between Modi and Sharif was not planned as there was no request from Pakistan. India suspended foreign secretary-level talks after the Pakistan envoy met Kashmiri separatists. India had stressed in the past that it was open to dialogue with Pakistan only if the neighbour country took the first step. Sharif had said recently that “ball is now India’s court for talks between both the countries”. Issuing a 36-point declaration, the summit will come to an end later in the day after giving the final touch to the Kathmandu Declaration. Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koriala will formally announce the closure of the 18th Saarc summit, Nepal’s foreign ministry said. All heads of state and government will be present during the closing ceremony of the summit. Even as the energy-related agreement was signed, negotiations for the Saarc motor vehicle and railway accords might be completed within three months and signed during the next meeting of the Saarc Council of Ministers six months later. The member states also agreed to strengthen the Kathmandu-based Saarc Secretariat and to set up a mechanism to curb terrorism, religious fundamentalism and religious extremism. Several sub-committees will be formed to implement the past accords and agreements. All eight Saarc leaders expressed frustration on Wednesday with the slow pace of progress towards greater regional integration, which new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called a failure of political will. Bangladesh also confirmed a final push to convince Pakistan in time for the summit’s closing declaration later in the day. Analysts have blamed Saarc’s failure on the mutual mistrust between Pakistan and regional powerhouse India, which has taken a more assertive stance toward its northern neighbour since the election of a new government in May. Analysts blame their rivalry and poor infrastructure for the very low levels of regional trade among the eight Saarc nations—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Trade between them has grown from under $140 million in 2008 to $878 million in 2012, but still accounts for less than 5% of the region’s total commerce. India and Pakistan have been trying for years to reach a bilateral agreement for energy sharing across their heavily militarised border in Punjab, but the deal has faced resistance from Pakistan’s army. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and last month exchanges of fire across the border in disputed Kashmir killed 20 people. Transit is so restricted across the border that large volumes of Indian goods can only reach Pakistan via Dubai. Also last month, Pakistan agreed on electricity transit fees with Afghanistan, a step towards importing energy from Central Asia. The squabbling between India and Pakistan has held back Saarc for years, with the two sides’ disagreements preventing progress in the consensus-based grouping. Modi is keen to make South Asia a viable counterweight to China and on Wednesday warned that regional integration would happen “through Saarc or outside it, among us all or some of us.” China is an observer at Saarc, and vice-foreign minister Liu Zhenmin has promised $30 billion for road building in the region over five years, and suggested increasing trade to $150 billion in the same period. — PTI, IANS
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