A little more than four months after Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif met in Ufa, Russia, seeking to resume Indo-Pak dialogue process, the two prime ministers met in Paris at the Climate Change conference centre.
Both the leaders were seen shaking hands and talking animatedly for a few minutes while sitting on a sofa, without their aides and officials hanging on their sides. Emerging from the venue, a visibly positive Sharif said, “If both sides want that the issues should be taken forward, then it is not possible that these will not be taken forward.” The Pak PM also said that they want to discuss and resolve issues.
The spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, Vikas Swarup posted a picture of the two leaders and posted it on micro-blogging website Twitter saying, “PM @narendramodi mets PM Nawaz Sharif at COP21 in Paris.” Downplaying the event, he later tweeted, “This was a brief exchange of courtesies in the Leaders Lounge. PM meets many Heads of State/Govt.” “The Prime Minister greatly values his relationship with Prime Minister Sharif and if they have waved at each other I don't see anything out of the ordinary in that,” he said later. Pakistan media couldn't get enough of the news and constantly highlighted the meet. They described it as a “positive development”, showing the footage on repeat. They reported that the meeting was held in a “cordial atmosphere”, which it said was a “positive and happy occasion.”
The rendezvous is significant as India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been invited for the 'Heart of Asia' conference in Islamabad, on December 9. Sharif had indicated that Pakistan is ready for a dialogue without pre-conditions for sustainable peace, during a meet with British counterpart David Cameron on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. He had told Cameron that Pakistan intends to maintain friendly relations with all its neighbours including India and Afghanistan. Ties have been strained between both the counries, especially this year, over border firing and a series of ceasefire violations. Talks between the National Security Advisors of both the countries were cancelled in August as, while India wanted to discuss terror attacks, Pakistan insisted on raising Kashmir.
