NEW DELHI : With barely ten days left for the 18th SAARC Summit in Nepal, there is still uncertainty on whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines.
None of the officials here are ready to confirm whether the two leaders will have a meeting which has been the practice so far.
Indian officials here said that as of now, there was “no proposal” from either side for any meeting between the two Prime Ministers who had last met in May after Mr Modi’s oath taking ceremony.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbarudin had said that any reports suggesting a meeting between the two leaders were just “flights of fancy”. Sources said Mr Modi will have a ‘SAARC-plus’ programme in Nepal including attending the SAARC Summit, bilateral meetings with other SAARC leaders and visits to Lumbini and Janakpur.
When asked whether the bilateral meetings would include with the Pakistan Prime Minister also, the sources said there was “no proposal” from any country yet. Even before his arrival, Mr Modi’s programme to address people at Lumbini and Janakpur has run into rough weather resulting in the addresses being cancelled. Many Nepalese political leaders and civil society organisations have opposed the Indian leader’s move saying the Prime Minister of a sovereign country could not address people in another sovereign country. Reports here quoting Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam said Mr Modi would only take part in civic reception but not speak before a crowd at the two places.
“There is no programme to address the mass gathering but civil society will hold a reception in his honour,” he said.
Reports also said some local leaders wanted Mr Modi to distribute about 3,000 bicycles to local school children during his visit to Janakpur.
However, that proposal was also shot down. Mr Modi plans to tour three pilgrim centres of Janakpur, Lumbini and Muktinath while Srilankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa plans to visit Lumbini.
Before Mr Gautam’s clarification, lawmaker and UCPN (Maoist) chief whip Giriraj Mani Pokharel sought the government´s position on Mr Modi’s plan to address the mass, stating that such a practice was wrong from diplomatic perspective. UML Vice Chairman Yubaraj Gyanwali said, “Distributing bicycles like in the election campaigns goes against diplomatic protocol.”
The SAARC leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen are expected to arrive in Kathmandu on November 25.
Nepal had made a formal request to the visiting VVIPs to arrive in Kathmandu a day before the inauguration of the two-day Summit on November 26.
Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala is scheduled host a dinner reception on the next day of their arrival. Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav will also a host dinner reception for the dignitaries on November 27, the final day of the Summit, at his official residence in Shital Niwas.
The visiting Heads of State/Government are scheduled to fly back home on November 28.
(AGENCIES)
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