Kathmandu:
Nepal is ready to “mediate” between India and Pakistan to break the deadlock in their ties by bringing the leaders of the two countries together during the SAARC Summit, Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey today said.
“Nepal could mediate between India and Pakistan on the sidelines of the Summit,” Pandey said during a talk show on News 24 channel.
“The Prime Ministers of both the countries were in favour of improving the deteriorating relations and Nepal will take the initiative,” said the foreign minister of the host country.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said “wait till Tuesday”, when asked about the possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.
The statement by Swaraj came after Pakistani media reported that the two premiers may interact on the sidelines of the two-day summit.
“The two prime ministers will come face-to-face at the retreat ceremony in Kathmandu,” a Pakistani official was quoted as saying by Express Tribune.
As part of a tradition, the heads of state and government attending the SAARC Summit are taken for a retreat after the inauguration of the conference in order to create a conducive environment for bilateral meetings.
All SAARC leaders including from India and Pakistan are being invited for the retreat.
Nepal is hosting the SAARC Summit after an interval of 12 years.
The country previously hosted the summit in 2002, when the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf met in Kathmandu.
Modi to hand over trauma centre, helicopter to Nepal
Modi will hand over to Nepal a 200-bedded trauma centre and an Advanced Light Helicopter for its army after arriving here on Tuesday to attend the SAARC Summit.
The trauma centre has been built by India at a cost of Rs 1.5 billion at the city’s Bir Hospital, the oldest medical facility in the country.
The centre was to come into operation in 2009, but the project got delayed due to some technical reasons.
The trauma centre has six operation theatres, 14 intensive care units (ICUs), eight resuscitation rooms and beds for emergency observation, 10 examination cubicles in the outpatient department and a triage area.
In a separate function after arriving in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Modi will hand over the keys of Advanced Light Helicopter ‘Dhruv’ to Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala for the country’s army.
The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd manufactured helicopter, which costs USD 6.5 million, can meet the requirements of both military and civil operators.
Modi will on Tuesday also have separate meetings with President Ram Baran Yadav, Koirala and other senior leaders of Nepal.
