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Indian FM in Islamabad for Heart of Asia conference

Xinhua, December 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Tuesday to represent her country at the ministerial conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process to be held on Wednesday.

This is the first visit of an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in three years.

The Indian minister said on her arrival that India wanted to improve relations with Pakistan.

"I have brought a message of goodwill that both countries should have good relations," she told Pakistan state television.

Swaraj said she will call on Paksitani Prime Minister Nawas Sharif and his adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.

"India gives importance to the Heart of Asia conference and that is why she has arrived in Pakistan to attend it," she said.

The Indian top diplomat evaded the question when asked what she would discuss during her bilateral meetings in Islamabad.

"You would know what we will discuss," Swaraj said.

Besides Swaraj, foreign ministers of nine other member countries will also attend the conference.

The Indian minister and Pakistani leaders are expected to use the opportunity to discuss bilateral matters in line with the understanding reached during a brief meeting of Prime Minister Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Paris last week.

Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will jointly inaugurate the conference.

The conference is aimed at cementing regional ties through a set of Confidence Building Measures. The process is designed to expand coordination between Afghanistan and its neighbours and regional partners in facing common threats, including terrorism, narcotics, poverty and extremism.

The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process was established in 2011 at the initiative of Afghanistan and Turkey.

The main objective of the process is to foster efforts for regional cooperation and connectivity with a view to promoting long-term peace and stability as well as progress and development in Afghanistan and the region.

The Fifth Ministerial Conference is expected to adopt a forward looking Islamabad Declaration entitled "Enhanced Cooperation for Countering Security Threats and Promoting Connectivity in the Heart of Asia Region."

The declaration would underline commitments from the Heart of Asia countries and partners for sustained efforts toward promoting peace and security, economic development and connectivity in the region. Enditem