New Delhi:
18th SAARC summit which will conclude on Thursday may prove to be a flop show as Pakistan has refused to agree on three major agreements that aim at promoting cross-border trade.
Among all eight SAARC members it’s just Pakistan who is refusing to say yes on cross border trade, which is minimum between South Asian countries.
On the first day of SAARC Summit, Pakistan blocked key proposals backed by India and other countries to integrate energy grids and free up road and rail movement.
"As SAARC we have failed to move with the speed that our people expect and want. Nowhere in the world are collective efforts more urgent than in South Asia; and, nowhere else is it so modest," PM Narendra Modi said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, who were sitting two seats away from each other, did not look at each other even when Sharif crossed before and after delivering his speech at the 18th meeting of the eight-member regional bloc.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other SAARC leaders on Thursday will head for Dhulikhel in Kavre district, 20 km east from here, for a retreat as they are expected to make a last ditch effort to push Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif to ink the regional connectivity agreements.
(with input from Agencies)
