New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not have a bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, during his current visit to the US, officials said.
"As of now there is nothing, no bilateral meeting on the schedule," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup told sources. Modi and Sharif are staying in the same hotel in the city - the iconic Waldorf Astoria. When asked if there will be a "deliberate attempt" to ensure that paths of the two leaders do not cross, Swarup replied in the negative.
"There will be no deliberate attempt (at paths not crossing). If a hand shake happens, you will get to see it. If a pull aside happens you will get to see it," he said. Sharif is slated to reach New York today (Friday) evening.
Modi will address the Sustainable Development Summit hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on September 25, when the new and ambitious post-2015 development agenda will be adopted.
Sharif is scheduled to address the high-level meeting on September 27. Modi will be in California on September 26 and 27 and will return to New York on September 28, when apart from meeting US President Barack Obama, he will attend the high-level Peacekeeping Summit at the UN headquarters.
Since Sharif will also be attending the summit, the multilateral gathering will provide a forum for the leaders of India and Pakistan to come face-to-face. Modi, who arrived here for his second US visit, will depart for India late September 28 or the early morning of September 29 but Sharif will remain in the city.
He will address the annual debate of the General Assembly on September 30, a day before India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addresses the gathering of world leaders on October 1.
