Thimphu:
It's a historic first for Bhutan. With India's financial and organisational help, the mountain nation is hosting its first Southeast Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit ever in its capital Thimphu this week.
"We will be coming under one roof. So, if we come at the same time, it is obvious we will run into each other," the Prime Minister told reporters in New Delhi.
All SAARC leaders will arrive on Tuesday, except for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The snowballing political controversies over the Indian Premier League (IPL) and phone tapping, and the need to see the Finance Bill through in Parliament on Tuesday has forced him to delay his departure for Thimphu by a day. This has caused the inauguration of the summit to be delayed from the morning of Wednesday April 28th to the afternoon.
As always, all eyes are on movement on the Indo-Pak front here in Thimphu. Arriving ahead of the summit, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna didn't rule out a meeting between the two Prime Ministers. This will be their second meeting this month, and there is hope it will be more substantial than the handshake in Washington on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in early April.
Many see the handing over of three dossiers by Pakistan to India over the weekend, and Pakistan's request for access to interrogate Ajmal Kasab, officers investigating the Mumbai terror attacks, and the magistrate hearing the terror trials in Mumbai as having set the stage for some kind of talks here in Thimpu. While it's unlikely India will send Kasab back to Pakistan for questioning, SM Krishna measured his words and told reporters that the trial process must first conclude in India, before their request can even be considered.
While a limited interaction between Prime Ministers Singh and Gilani is expected, it's still unclear what format it will take, or what the two sides will agree to call the meeting. India has consistently maintained there is no question of a resumption of the composite dialogue process until Pakistan shows progress on the Mumbai terror investigations. The Pakistani side is hoping to bring to the table concerns over Indus water sharing, increasingly becoming a hot button issue within Pakistan. Islamabad has in fact also filed a complaint against India's work on a hydroelectric project on the Kishenganga, in the International Court of Arbitration.
SAARC's raison d'etre is the development of the region: To improve regional cooperation in trade and cultural ties, free up travel and transport access within the South Asian region and as a region that is home to over a quarter of the world's population, work together to make it a force to reckon with internationally. In 2007, it expanded to include Afghanistan into its fold- a crucial inclusion that was intended to make SAARC more cohesive regionally. But for too long now, SAARC's other members have felt, with good reason, that the regional grouping's agenda and mission has been hijacked by Indo- Pak tensions. This time, as Bhutan pulls out all the stops for South Asian leaders for their 25th summit, and tries to get the group to focus on the environment and climate change, the hope is that regional issues will take priority; whether or not India and Pakistan are able to make headway during their bilateral talks.
(With PTI inputs)