Press Briefings

Meetings of EAM at Trieste (Italy) including with his Pakistani counterpart

26/06/2009

EAM is having a series of bilateral meetings on the margins of the G8 Outreach meeting. He met with the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan this morning and will be meeting his counterparts of the UK, Canada and Italy, among others later today and tomorrow.

Addressing the media after his meeting with H.E. Mr. Shah Mahmood Quereshi, EAM said, ‘I am glad that this international conference has provided an opportunity for bilateral meeting with my counterpart from Pakistan.

As you are aware, our Prime Minister had recently met with the President of Pakistan at the margins of the SCO Summit in Russia.

In my meeting today, we have reviewed the current status of India-Pakistan relations. These have remained under considerable stress and the primary cause of this is the terrorist attacks on India, by elements based in Pakistan.

FM Qureshi and I however also agreed in our discussions today of the vast potential that exist in India-Pakistan relations. I conveyed the sentiments of our Prime Minister that we stand ready to meet Pakistan more than half way to utilize and harness that potential for our mutual benefit. At the same time, we have to address centrally why our relations come under stress recurrently.

I also conveyed therefore that the forthcoming meeting of Foreign Secretaries, as was decided by our leaders in Russia, is important as it will enable us to take stock of where we stand on the issue of terrorism and the fulfillment by Pakistan of its assurance that its territory would not be used for terrorist attacks on India.”

New Delhi
June 26, 2009