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Surendra Phuyal in Kathmandu
Foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan came face-to-face and shared smiles, as last minute preparations got underway in Kathmandu on Tuesday to hold a meeting of South Asian Council of Ministers comprising foreign ministers from the SAARC countries.
Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha and Pakistani Foreign Minister Inam Ul-Haq arrived on Tuesday evening to attend the meet opening on Wednesday.
At the meeting of the SAARC Standing Committee, comprising foreign secretaries of the region, Indian Foreign Secretary Kamal Sibal and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz H Khokhar came face-to-face and were 'courteous', Nepalese foreign ministry officials, who attended the meet, said.
"They shared smiles, shook hands and sat together," said Nepalese foreign ministry spokesman Pushkar Rajbhandari.
At the meeting, secretaries of the SAARC countries -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- agreed that the existing anti-terrorism laws need to be amended to make them compatible with global anti-terrorism laws, Rajbhandari said.
The secretaries also emphasised the need to implement various SAARC conventions, particularly the SAARC convention on terrorism. The convention was signed by the heads of the 7-nation grouping during the 11th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu in January this year.
The mini-summit is expected the fix the date for the next summit, which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan. In January, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf had proposed that the next summit be held in Pakistan.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was formed in 1985 with a view to promoting regional cooperation.
Also See: SAARC nations to amend laws for terrorism
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