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Saarc tops Natwar agenda
External Affairs minister K. Natwar Singh has its hands full with a slew of strategic, policy and administrative decisions lined up.
External Affairs minister K. Natwar Singh has its hands full with a slew of strategic, policy and administrative decisions lined up.
However, Singh has his priorities clear. Top on the agenda will be consolidating India's relationship with its neighbours. All Indian envoys in Saarc countries, including Shiv Shankar Menon in Islamabad, are being called to New Delhi for consultations with the new foreign minister. India's ambassadors to Iraq and Afghanistan have also been summoned for discussions.
Given the worsening situation in Nepal and its impact on India, India's envoy to Nepal, Shyam Saran, was the first to be called to Delhi for consultations. Saran's trip coincides with some speculation that he may be considered for the post of foreign secretary once present incumbent Shashank retires in July.
The minister will have to give a direction for the foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan, besides naming a new interlocutor for talks with China.
Singh also has to assess the intelligence inputs on cross-border infiltration, which will be clear by early June. A seasoned diplomat, Singh is unlikely to rush into talks with Pakistan without adequate preparation, for which the groundwork is already underway.
On Tuesday, Pakistan foreign minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri spoke to Singh on phone from Washington and the two leaders expressed their determination to take the peace process forward. Then there is the tricky issue of Sri-Lanka, especially when some constituents of the UPA remain sympathetic to the LTTE. In fact, the LTTE leadership has called for the removal of the ban on them. Further cementing ties with the US seems a priority. Key appointments of India's envoy to the US, UK and the UN have also to be cleared.
Pervez calls Sonia
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf called Congress president Sonia Gandhi and congratulated her on her party's victory in the LS polls. Musharraf invited Sonia to Pakistan and hoped that the Indo-Pak peace process would continue under the Congress-led government.
