Krishna, Qureshi say hello in Phuket, talks only in New York
July 23rd, 2009 - 3:20 pm ICT by IANS
By Manish Chand
Phuket (Thailand), July 23 (IANS) Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi were in this Thai island resort for Asia’s security forum meeting, but they just exchanged greetings and left bilateral talks for their interaction on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September.
“We exchanged greetings when we met each other at the dinner hosted by Thailand (for foreign ministers of ASEAN and East Asia Summit countries) last night,” Krishna told reporters here Thursday.
“Perhaps we will be meeting in New York in September. Modalities are being discussed,” Krishna said. “It’s unlikely we are going to be in the same room before the UNGA.”
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani met on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh July 16 and and decided that foreign ministers of the two countries will meet on the sidelines of the UNGA in September to review further developments.
The joint statement issued in Egypt states that the foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet as often as possible ahead of the meeting between the foreign ministers in New York.
Without naming Pakistan, Krishna Thursday drew the attention of Asian countries to “India’s terror-infested neighbourhood” and called for quicker intelligence sharing and effective cooperation to combat terrorism.
“Without naming Pakistan, I spoke about the Mumbai terror attacks. We talked about our terror-infested neighbourhood,” Krishna said when asked whether he highlighted Pakistan’s alleged complicity in the Mumbai attacks and other incidents of terrorism in India at the 16th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
Krishna said he placed the issue of terrorism upfront at the retreat of 27 foreign ministers of the ARF, Asia’s top security gathering that concluded in the Thai island resort Thursday.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were among those who participated in the meeting.
–Indo-Asian New Service
mc/mj/jg
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Tags: asean regional forum, bilateral talks, east asia summit, egyptian resort, external affairs minister, foreign ministers, gilani, indian prime minister, indian prime minister manmohan singh, manish, manmohan singh, mehmood, nam summit, phuket thailand, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, sharm el sheikh, terrorism in india, thai island, un general assembly
