- Title: Maldives: India And Pakistan Meet For The First High-Level Talks For Four Years
- Date: 12th May 1997
- Summary: The leaders of India and Pakistan have met in the first high-level talks between the two countries for four years. At a summit attended by the leaders of seven South Asian nations, Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, on May 12 took the first steps towards reconciling the differences of the two countries. At the opening of the three-day South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) summit in the Maldive capital of Male, the two leaders agreed to release all prisoners held in each other's countries. Gujral said he was encouraged by the way talks with Sharif were progressing, endorsing the latter's announcement that bilateral talks between India and Pakistan had now started at various levels. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the partition of British India in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.Sharif said Pakistan was determined to continue in talks with India, but did not refer to the main bone of contention between the two countries: Kashmir. However Pakistani Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed later told reporters both sides had agreed to set up a working group which would be devoted to the issue. Gujral and Sharif joined leaders from Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka for the summit in the Indian Ocean archipelago amid calls from the leaders of what are some of the world's poorest countries for more political dialogue to end growth-stifling mistrust.
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- Location: MALDIVES MALE
- Reuters ID: LDL00126M0XOZ
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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- Copyright Holder: ANI - India (ACCESS ALL)
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