SAARC leaders to hold individual meetings with Modi

All eyes on a possible meeting between Modi and Sharif even as suspense on whether latter will attend still looms

A day after the grand swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi takes place, the leaders of eight-nation South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) are going to hold meetings with the new PM separately.

"It is a normal practice to have short meetings of a limited duration as a courtesy and gesture to the incoming guests. We pride ourselves on being gracious hosts. This will individual meetings taking place on May 27 in line with their (SAARC leaders) scheduled departures," Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told reporters here today.

However, Akbaruddin refrained from calling these meeting a formal bilateral engagement. He also did not elucidate whether these individual meetings will take place with all the SAARC leaders or only with the few key ones.

The leaders who have confirmed their attendance at the oath-taking gala ceremony are - Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay, Mauritius PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala and Bangladesh speaker Shirin Shamin Chaudhury.

At the time of going to press, there was no response from Pakistan on who will attend the ceremony.

He also stated that the new government will also host a dinner in honour of these visiting dignitaries. He also underscored the fact this is first of its kind a diplomatic gesture by any Indian PM to invite Heads of Governments or Heads of States of other countries.

But all eyes are on a possible meeting between Modi and Pakistan even as the suspense on whether or not Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif will attend continued to loom large. According to sources, there were "very high possibility" that PM Sharif will attend the event, but an official response was likely to be made on Saturday.

"The presence of the leaders at the swearing-in ceremony will commence relations on a highly positive note and provide the occasion to identify priorities before challenges and obstructions come to the fore. It will be fitting if Modi's first foreign visit, even before the crucial BRICS summit scheduled for July 2014 in Brazil, is to one of the neighbouring countries," said Neelam Deo, director at Gateway House - a Mumbai based foreign policy think tank.