ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz is all set to leave for New Delhi today (Sunday) aboard a special aircraft to attend the 11th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ meeting (ASEM) being hosted by India.
The two-day multilateral event titled ‘ASEM: Bridge to Partnership for Growth and Development’ will be held in New Delhi’s suburban town Gurgaon on November 11-12.
Notably this will be Mr Aziz’s first trip to India after taking charge as PM’s National Security Adviser in June. Although this visit is in the context of a multilateral event, it acquires special significance due to an important bilateral meeting planned with Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on the margins of the main event.
Aziz will also hold talks with his Indian counterpart Shivshankar Menon. His meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also expected.
Ms Riffat Masood, head of the South Asia Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be travelling with the PM’s Adviser to assist him at the talks.
Aziz will also hold a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event with his counterparts from China, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Romania, Spain and Slovak Republic.
During his stay in New Delhi, Mr Sartaj Aziz will also meet the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders and other Kashmiri political figures at a reception hosted by Pakistan’s High Commissioner Salman Bashir. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Syed Ali Geelani, Yasin Malik, Shabbir Shah, Abdul Ghani Lone and Asiya Andrabi are among the Kashmiri leaders who have been invited to a dinner reception at the High Commissioner’s residence on Sunday evening.