The Pakistan prime minister will be on a visit to India in his capacity as the SAARC chairman.
An official advertisement in Pakistan showing the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India has put the government in an embarassing position, with the commerce ministry ordering an inquiry into it.
President of the Kyrgyz Republic, who is the current Chair of the SCO, and the PM of Mauritius, who was the chief guest at this year's Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, have also been invited, the MEA said.
Soon after the Union Ministry of Culture decided on refusing US dollar payments for entry tickets to monuments in Agra due to the falling value of dollar against the Indian rupee, the Archaeological Survey of India is planning to lower the entry ticket cost for tourists belonging to the South Asian Association for Regional cooperation (Saarc) countries, bringing it down from Rs 750 to Rs 20.
His Pakistani counterpart Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali received him at the airport.
'We want to give our undivided attention and energy to the success of SAARC,' he said.
Islamabad will be sealed off completely from Tuesday with army helicopters making surveillance sorties and 4,000 policemen keeping vigil.
'Obviously, there will be occasions when leaders will get together during the conference and at the retreat. So those occasions will be there,' Foreign Secretary Shashank said.
Jamali thanked Vajpayee for confirming his attendance at the next month's SAARC summit in Islamabad.
A giant replica of Ghouri missile, which was erected after 1998 nuclear tests, was demolished.
No reservation on China, Japan joining SAARC as observers: PM
In the same year, medical tourism was a $333-million strong market and the ministry said given its growth rate of 25 per cent it will emerge as $2billion market in 2012.
He warned that 'other alignments' will develop to seize the economic opportunities offered by closer integration.
'India has asked Pakistan to take certain steps and talks are not possible unless Pakistan convinces India on that,' Sibal said.
Natwar on a three-day visit to Bangladesh from Saturday
Koirala is currently busy in hectic consultations with his party colleagues as well as top leaders of the major political parties to form a new Interim government inclusive of the Maoists.
India has been reluctant to participate in view of Pakistan's refusal to put an end to crossborder terrorism.
India would take up with SAARC nations the refugees issue so that neighbouring countries could take them with the assurance that they will be treated in proper manner.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will make a statement in Parliament on December 14 on the recent developments in India-Pakistan relations.
'Having India as a credible deterrent vis-a-vis Chinese ambitions in the Indian Ocean and South Asian region is a desirable short-term outcome.'
The sojourn was cancelled due to foggy weather conditions in the north. The PM also wanted to prepare for the SAARC summit.
Meetings of SAARC foreign ministers and foreign secretaries will precede the summit.
The Pakistani foreign minister will also visit five other SAARC nations.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
'As long as India and Pakistan remain at loggerheads, SAARC\n\nis dead in the water. So why go through with this charade?' asks Ramananda Sengupta.
Bangladesh is awaiting a fresh date to host the SAARC summit postponed due to the devastating tidal wave disaster that hit Asia and said priority would be given to India, Sri Lanka and Maldives in setting the new schedule.
'No Cold War should be reignited and no Ukraine-style crisis should be repeated in Asia'
India on Thursday pitched for unleashing the "collective strength" of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj underlined the need for a South Asian Economic Union with greater connectivity and forward movement on pending agreements on rail and motor vehicles.
The United Kingdom extracted USD 64.82 trillion from India over a century of colonialism between 1765 and 1900 and USD 33.8 trillion of this went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances