thesolar65
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2012
- Messages
- 4,922
- Reaction score
- -12
- Country
- Location
PM Modi will visit Pakistan next year, says Sushma Swaraj in Islamabad
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Pakistan next year, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in Islamabad on Wednesday.
Modi will participate in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, Swaraj told the media. Sushma Swaraj said she would accompany Modi during his visit, Geo TV reported.
The external affairs minister said that India and Pakistan must display maturity in doing business with each other.
"It is time we display maturity and self-confidence to do business with each other and strengthen regional trade and cooperation," Sushma Swaraj said in her address at the Heart of Asia Summit in Islamabad, and added, "The entire world is rooting for a change. Let us not disappoint them."
She added that on "our part, India is prepared to move our cooperation at a pace which Pakistan is comfortable with. But today, let us at least resolve to help Afghanistan — in the best traditions of good neighbourliness.
Swaraj also said that in the past few months, terrorism in Afghanistan had grown both in intensity and scope.
"Afghanistan is threatened most by terrorism and not tribal or ethnic rivalries," she said, adding that the Afghan security forces need the continued support of the international community.
Swaraj said that it was the 'collective duty of all of us to ensure that the forces of terrorism and extremism do not find sanctuaries and safe havens in any name, form or manifestation... An end to terrorism and extremism, and adherence to internationally accepted redlines are essential for reconciliation and lasting peace in Afghanistan.'
Saying that Afghanistan could be an important hub for trade, transit and communication routes, Swaraj said, "The 'Heart of Asia' cannot function if its arteries are clogged."
She also invited the ministers for the 6th Heart of Asia summit to be held in India in 2016.
Swaraj, who was accompanied by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, India's High Commissioner to Pakistan TCA Raghavan and envoy to Afghanistan Amar Sinha, said terrorism in that country has grown in both intensity and scope in the last few months and that India was ready to work with the Afghan government to strengthen its defensive capability.
"Terrorists have made concerted efforts to capture and hold territory, reminding us that they have not changed. We salute the Afghan National Security Forces and the Afghan people for countering the forces of terrorism and extremism with courage and resilience," she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Pakistan next year, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in Islamabad on Wednesday.
Modi will participate in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, Swaraj told the media. Sushma Swaraj said she would accompany Modi during his visit, Geo TV reported.
The external affairs minister said that India and Pakistan must display maturity in doing business with each other.
"It is time we display maturity and self-confidence to do business with each other and strengthen regional trade and cooperation," Sushma Swaraj said in her address at the Heart of Asia Summit in Islamabad, and added, "The entire world is rooting for a change. Let us not disappoint them."
She added that on "our part, India is prepared to move our cooperation at a pace which Pakistan is comfortable with. But today, let us at least resolve to help Afghanistan — in the best traditions of good neighbourliness.
Swaraj also said that in the past few months, terrorism in Afghanistan had grown both in intensity and scope.
"Afghanistan is threatened most by terrorism and not tribal or ethnic rivalries," she said, adding that the Afghan security forces need the continued support of the international community.
Swaraj said that it was the 'collective duty of all of us to ensure that the forces of terrorism and extremism do not find sanctuaries and safe havens in any name, form or manifestation... An end to terrorism and extremism, and adherence to internationally accepted redlines are essential for reconciliation and lasting peace in Afghanistan.'
Saying that Afghanistan could be an important hub for trade, transit and communication routes, Swaraj said, "The 'Heart of Asia' cannot function if its arteries are clogged."
She also invited the ministers for the 6th Heart of Asia summit to be held in India in 2016.
Swaraj, who was accompanied by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, India's High Commissioner to Pakistan TCA Raghavan and envoy to Afghanistan Amar Sinha, said terrorism in that country has grown in both intensity and scope in the last few months and that India was ready to work with the Afghan government to strengthen its defensive capability.
"Terrorists have made concerted efforts to capture and hold territory, reminding us that they have not changed. We salute the Afghan National Security Forces and the Afghan people for countering the forces of terrorism and extremism with courage and resilience," she said.
