Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday evening to participate in the Heart of Asia Conference, which will be jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Ashraf Ghani.
Swaraj was received by senior foreign office officials. Accompanied by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, she will call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and also hold a meeting with PM‘s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.
Immediately after arriving in Islamabad, she said the relationship between the two countries should be better and that she will hold talks with Pakistani leaders to find ways to improve bilateral ties.
“I have come with the message that ties between the two countries should be good and move forward,” said Swaraj.
She refused to share what she would be discussing with Pakistani leaders, but said, “What will happen during the talks will be known after the meeting.”
“Heart of Asia conference is very important for India because it is associated with Afghanistan. That is why I have come here to participate. Since it is happening in Pakistan it is necessary and appropriate for me to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and hold talks with my counterpart Sartaz Aziz to talk about improving the bilateral ties and take them forward,” Swaraj said.
Invited by Pakistan to attend the multilateral meet on Afghanistan, Swaraj will attend the conference tomorrow before holding talks with Mr Aziz who said the focus would be on the resumption of the composite dialogue process.
Adopting a cautious approach over the agenda of talks between Swaraj and Aziz, Indian officials said they will see how the meeting goes and if there will be any point of convergence.
Swaraj’s visit comes after talks between the National Security Advisers of India and Pakistan in Bangkok on Sunday, where they discussed terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir and a range of key bilateral issues apart from agreeing to carry forward the “constructive” engagement.
Aziz had said yesterday that the deadlock in Indo-Pak ties had eased to some extent.
During his talks with Swaraj, Aziz said he would discuss various matters with focus on resumption of composite dialogue process between the two countries.
Swaraj’s trip came three years after former external affairs minister SM Krishna’s visit here in 2012 when the two sides inked a visa liberalisation pact.
Pakistan is hosting the Fifth Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process Ministerial Conference in Islamabad on December 9.
High-ranking delegations from 14 Participating States, 17 Supporting Countries and 12 International and Regional Organisations are participating in the conference, while foreign ministers from ten countries have confirmed their participation.
The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process was established in 2011 at the initiative of Afghanistan and Turkey. The main objective of the Process is to foster efforts for regional cooperation and connectivity with a view to promoting long-term peace and stability as well as progress and development in Afghanistan, and the region.
The Fifth Ministerial Conference is expected to adopt a forward looking Islamabad Declaration titled “Enhanced Cooperation for Countering Security Threats and Promoting Connectivity in the Heart of Asia Region”. The Declaration would underline commitments from the Heart of Asia countries and partners for sustained efforts towards promoting peace and security, economic development and connectivity in the region.
