Male:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is heading to the Maldives today for the 17th annual SAARC Summit.
All eyes will be on his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and how they take forward what's often called the "Thimphu thaw" in relations between Delhi and Islamabad that had frozen after the 26/11 attacks.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation or SAARC was created in 1985 in Dhaka with seven members, as an expression of the region's collective decision to evolve a regional cooperative framework.
Topping the agenda there will be India's attempts to ensure the peace process with Pakistan stays on track, and developments on the economic front between the two countries in the wake of the confusion over Pakistan's decision to grant the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India.
External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has left for the summit during which he is likely to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other member countries including Pakistan's Hina Rabbani Khar.
Mr Krishna, who flew to Maldives' Addu city, will attend the SAARC Foreign Minister's meeting today where the focus is likely to be on connectivity between the member states India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Maldives and a host of regional issues including trade.
During his meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister Khar, issue of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India is also likely to come up. There has been some sort of flip-flop on the part of Pakistan in explaining the decision.
The theme of 17th SAARC Summit, being hosted for the third time by the Maldives, is 'Building Bridges'. Official sources said the focus of this year's summit would be on improving the infrastructure of connectivity and trade and better people-to-people contact.
(With PTI inputs)
All eyes will be on his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and how they take forward what's often called the "Thimphu thaw" in relations between Delhi and Islamabad that had frozen after the 26/11 attacks.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation or SAARC was created in 1985 in Dhaka with seven members, as an expression of the region's collective decision to evolve a regional cooperative framework.
Topping the agenda there will be India's attempts to ensure the peace process with Pakistan stays on track, and developments on the economic front between the two countries in the wake of the confusion over Pakistan's decision to grant the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India.
External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has left for the summit during which he is likely to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other member countries including Pakistan's Hina Rabbani Khar.
Mr Krishna, who flew to Maldives' Addu city, will attend the SAARC Foreign Minister's meeting today where the focus is likely to be on connectivity between the member states India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Maldives and a host of regional issues including trade.
During his meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister Khar, issue of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India is also likely to come up. There has been some sort of flip-flop on the part of Pakistan in explaining the decision.
The theme of 17th SAARC Summit, being hosted for the third time by the Maldives, is 'Building Bridges'. Official sources said the focus of this year's summit would be on improving the infrastructure of connectivity and trade and better people-to-people contact.
(With PTI inputs)
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