‘There must be something solid to celebrate’
From CK Nayak
SEOUL: Welcoming Pakistan’s move to liberalise trade with India, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said he could visit that country if there is “something solid” to celebrate.
On his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit here, Dr Singh said he thanked him for the trade concessions his government had made to India recently.
“I had a good meeting with him. I thanked him for the trade concessions that they have announced,” after concluding his four-day visit to South Korea.
Dr Singh said Gilani asked him when was he coming to Pakistan on an official visit.
“He (Gilani) said when are you coming there (Pakistan). So, I said let us do something solid so that we can celebrate,” Dr Singh said.
Pakistan had recently announced its decision to liberalize trade with India by moving from positive list to a shorter negative list of goods.
The Prime Minister said Gilani also asked him if India could supply power to Pakistan from Punjab.
“I said we will look into it,” he said.
Dr Singh and Gilani had a ‘pull aside’ meeting just ahead of the plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit.
“It was a pull aside, but a little more extended,” Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said.
While Singh was accompanied by Mathai and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, Gilani was accompanied by Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.
Earlier in the day, curtains came down on the two-day-long second nuclear security summit with the world leaders pledging to make the world a safer place and virtually endorsing India’s stand that fundamental duty of guarding nuclear materials and products against non state actors lies with the state.
The world leaders also approved more specific plans and new action plan to prevent nuclear terrorism and ensure atomic safety. Top leaders from 53 nations and four international organizations, including US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President besides Dr Singh came to attend the high level meet.
The second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul is a follow-up to the first summit hosted by Obama in Washington in 2010, when leaders focused on strengthening the security of fissile material worldwide and securing against nuclear terrorism.
In Seoul, world leaders assessed accomplishments of commitments made in Washington and lay out more concrete actions to curb the treat of nuclear terrorism and illicit trafficking.Addressing the summit, Dr Singh said, “India has never been a source of proliferation of sensitive technologies and we are determined to further strengthen our export control systems to keep them on par with the highest international standards”.
The Prime Minister also released the National Progress Report on the steps taken by India to secure its nuclear installations and fissile material. On India’s nuclear programme, Dr Singh said comprehensive reviews of nuclear safety measures have been undertaken at nuclear facilities. (With inputs from PTI)