Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Paris
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shook hands and talked with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif for a few minutes in Paris today, as the 21st session of the Conference of Parties or COP21, the global summit on climate change, began.
Here are the latest developments:
- After shaking hands, the two leaders sat next to each other on a sofa, without delegates from either country around, and Mr Sharif was seen listening attentively as PM Modi spoke to him.
- Details of the conversation were not immediately known, but government officials described it as a "courtesy meeting."
- "Talks with PM Narendra Modi were good. Doors of dialogue should open," Mr Sharif said.
- PM Modi and Mr Sharif had last held a formal meeting in Russia's Ufa in July this year, amid hopes of a thaw in ties.
- But matters unraveled soon after with talks between the National Security Advisers of the two countries being canceled at the last minute over a meeting of the Pakistani envoy to India with Kashmiri separatists.
- In September this year, both prime ministers attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York and even stayed at the same hotel, but did not hold a formal meeting.
- Just minutes before a Summit on Peacekeeping was about to begin, however, Mr Sharif had waved at PM Modi, who had smiled and waved back.
- After a brief pause, PM Modi had waved again to Mr Sharif, who had then smiled and nodded his head.
- "The Prime Minister greatly values his relationship with Prime Minister Sharif and if they have waved at each other I don't see anything out of the ordinary in that," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said then.
- Mr Swarup first tweeted the picture today of the two Prime Ministers shaking hands and said, "PM @narendramodi meets PM Nawaz Sharif at COP 21 in Paris.
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