Panaji: The atmosphere in South Goa is still full of media frenzy about the scheduled arrival of the Pakistani foreign minister. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Thursday for a meeting Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organizationdespite the official bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar It seemed unlikely. Neither side, according to diplomatic sources, proposed a meeting until late Wednesday although the possibility of a “withdrawal” was not entirely ruled out.
Official sources confirmed that Jaishankar will meet his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on Thursday in what would be their second duet in two months. Chen, who will be among the first to arrive here on Thursday, met Jaishankar in March on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.
The meeting is expected to take place before Jaishankar officially kicks off the SCO meeting with an “informal” gala dinner and cultural program on the private beach of the South Goa resort. Besides Jaishankar, counterparts from all the other Eurasian Community member states – Russia, China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – will participate in the dinner.
Bi Jaishankar with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov It is also expected to take place on Thursday. Jaishankar is expected to use his meeting with Chen to further stress the need for early disengagement and de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. In the presence of Chen and Bilawal at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting on Friday, Jaishankar, while expressing his support for improved connectivity in the region, is also expected to reiterate India’s view that such initiatives should not violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any member state. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting on Friday will also discuss finalizing the agenda for the summit, which India will host in July.
On Thursday, however, all eyes will be on Bilawal who is expected to land here in the late afternoon. A formal bilateral meeting is unlikely, but neither side has not ruled out the possibility of a fleeting meeting, or at least an exchange of pleasantries with Jaishankar at a Thursday dinner.
While the visit is significant in that it comes 12 years after the last time Pakistan’s Foreign Minister came to India, it holds little hope of ending the freeze in relations, unlike in 2015 when the then Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Pakistan triggered the A comprehensive, short-lived bilateral dialogue. But this visit in 2015 was preceded by a brief meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Paris and a meeting of the national security agencies in Bangkok.
Bilawal Khar’s deputy was quoted as saying that Bilawal was even going to Timbuktu to participate in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The Indian government itself maintained throughout that the invitation to Bilawal was a formality required by the SCO charter and not a bilateral communication.
Official sources confirmed that Jaishankar will meet his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on Thursday in what would be their second duet in two months. Chen, who will be among the first to arrive here on Thursday, met Jaishankar in March on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.
The meeting is expected to take place before Jaishankar officially kicks off the SCO meeting with an “informal” gala dinner and cultural program on the private beach of the South Goa resort. Besides Jaishankar, counterparts from all the other Eurasian Community member states – Russia, China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – will participate in the dinner.
Bi Jaishankar with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov It is also expected to take place on Thursday. Jaishankar is expected to use his meeting with Chen to further stress the need for early disengagement and de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. In the presence of Chen and Bilawal at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting on Friday, Jaishankar, while expressing his support for improved connectivity in the region, is also expected to reiterate India’s view that such initiatives should not violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any member state. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting on Friday will also discuss finalizing the agenda for the summit, which India will host in July.
On Thursday, however, all eyes will be on Bilawal who is expected to land here in the late afternoon. A formal bilateral meeting is unlikely, but neither side has not ruled out the possibility of a fleeting meeting, or at least an exchange of pleasantries with Jaishankar at a Thursday dinner.
While the visit is significant in that it comes 12 years after the last time Pakistan’s Foreign Minister came to India, it holds little hope of ending the freeze in relations, unlike in 2015 when the then Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Pakistan triggered the A comprehensive, short-lived bilateral dialogue. But this visit in 2015 was preceded by a brief meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Paris and a meeting of the national security agencies in Bangkok.
Bilawal Khar’s deputy was quoted as saying that Bilawal was even going to Timbuktu to participate in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The Indian government itself maintained throughout that the invitation to Bilawal was a formality required by the SCO charter and not a bilateral communication.
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