India did not rule out a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit next week in Kathmandu, the external affairs ministry said on Sunday.

Modi is keen to have meaningful dialogues with as many south Asian leaders as possible, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.

The schedule of the bilateral meetings is being finalized and it is a work in progress, he said.

Modi will leave on Tuesday for the SAARC summit in Kathmandu to be held from Nov. 26 to 27.

Relations between India and Pakistan have remained tense over the past month due to firings upon each other by their border forces at the international border in Kashmir.

India also canceled a foreign secretarial level meeting with Pakistan in July because of Pakistan's contacts with separatists in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry earlier said that there is no meeting scheduled between Sharif and Modi. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)