Pakistan government gave clearance to the country's senior men's team to travel to India for the 2023 World Cup, ending months of uncertainty over their participation in the showpiece.
'While the President has been critical of India, he has gone out of his way to compliment PM Modi. They have an incredible relationship.'
It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
According to the photos published by the Pakistani media, Swaraj and Qureshi were seen seated next to each other.
Delivering a thinly veiled message to Pakistan from its soil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said activities across borders characterised by the 'three evils' of terrorism, extremism and separatism are unlikely to encourage trade, energy flows and connectivity.
In an interaction with a group of Indian journalists, the three-time prime minister and president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N described Jaishankar's visit as a "good opening" and said both sides should now engage and move forward.
The brief exchange and handshake between Jaishankar and Sharif took place at a banquet dinner hosted by the Pakistani prime minister at his residence in honour of the delegates attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed readiness to join hands with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to "properly handle" issues related to the situation on the ground in the border areas, amid the protracted border row in eastern Ladakh.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired the 22nd SCO summit in Samarkand which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi is visiting Uzbekistan at the invitation of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Xi Jinping and PM Shehbaz Sharif will attend via video conference, the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads meeting of the SCO on July 4.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reiterated that the situation at the India-China border is generally stable and both sides should consolidate the present achievements and strictly abide by the relevant agreements while pushing for further cooling and easing of the conditions for sustainable peace and tranquillity at the frontier.
Foreign Ministers of the SCO, who met here ahead of next month's summit, said the grouping should create a bigger role for observers and dialogue partners within the SCO framework, a press release issued at the end their meeting in Beijing on Friday said.
The heightened state of alert was only relaxed after Wang met his Jaishankar in Moscow on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, a second source said.
India and China on Wednesday held 'constructive' and 'forward-looking' diplomatic talks to resolve the over four-year border standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh but there was clear no indication of any breakthrough.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday held talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu and is learnt to have discussed the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh.
India, along with some other members, objected to the proposal and due to lack of consensus or concurrence, the meet has been cancelled.
In his address at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Benaulim, Goa, Jaishankar said the channel of finances for terror activities must be blocked without any distinction even as Bhutto Zardari raised the issue of "violation of international law" which was seen as an apparent reference to Kashmir.
It will be for the first time in nearly nine years India's external affairs minister will travel to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday left for the Uzbek city of Samarkand to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit that will also see the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran's Ebrahim Raisi among other top world leaders.
A five-point agreement was reached between Jaishankar and Wang at a meeting in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation conclave.
The relations between India and China cannot be normal if peace and tranquillity in border areas are disturbed, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.
The meeting is taking place under the shadow of a fierce border row between India and China, both members of the influential bloc.
'If Washington has to balance Chinese power, she will have to turn to the third biggest power in the world which is India.' 'The United States and India will have to work together in order to keep Chinese ambitions in check.'
The talks took place in a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
'We should watch -- in the near term -- for signs that the two have totally fallen out at a personal, political level.' 'Trump and Modi know how to be dealmakers, but they also know how to hold a grudge.'
During the meeting, President Xi addressed the ministers and discussed the bilateral issues among the countries and the issues affecting the South-Asian regions.
The Jaishankar-Wang talks came amid the dragging border row in eastern Ladakh that entered its fifth year in May.
The external affairs minister reiterated India's position on Afghanistan and highlighted its humanitarian support to the war-torn country, including the supply of wheat, medicines, vaccines and clothing.
'Terrorism continues to be the overwhelming threat to security and stability in the SCO region and therefore Dr Jaishankar strongly pitched for 'collective action',' observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
A video shows that Shehbaz was asking an aide for help, however even after the aide's assistance, his headphones dropped once again.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for trying to help find a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov focusing on the Ukraine conflict, bilateral ties and issues relating to the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to hold separate bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang and Russia's Sergey Lavrov at a beach resort in Goa on Thursday on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) amid rapidly evolving regional security situation.
Pakistan's top diplomat Sartaj Aziz said that he did not reject the idea when asked about the chances of a meeting between the two prime ministers
Pakistan has responded to a letter by India asking to start negotiations for the review of the Indus Water Treaty, the foreign office said on Wednesday.
'Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism.'
"Prime Minister Modi has a powerful, influential voice on the world stage. We know the Russian leadership respects India's voice and position on the world stage. I think Prime Minister Modi's intervention is very, very welcome. And we really hope that Vladimir Putin listens to those voices who are calling for peace and for de-escalation. So we very much welcome Prime Minister Modi's intervention," Cleverly told PTI in an interview.
On being asked about the Swaraj-Qureshi meeting, the MEA sources said the two leaders only exchanged pleasantries.
Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, including with Putin, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev among other leaders.
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