Nawaz, Modi shake hands warmly, hold brief meeting

PARIS: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi here on Monday had a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2015. The two prime ministers had a warm handshake as Narendra Modi pleasantly approached Nawaz Sharif and had a brief meeting with him.
Both the leaders appeared to be in a friendly mood and there seemed great warmth during their interaction while sitting on the same sofa.Talking to the media persons after the meeting, Nawaz Sharif termed his chat with Narendra Modi positive and said talks were held in a pleasant atmosphere. He said that if we really keep positive sentiments for one another, we must take practical steps towards their fulfilment.
The prime minister said both countries must take matters forward in a positive fashion to make progress and improve both internal and external matters. “We should adopt the path of dialogue for resolution of issues,” he added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and British Prime Minister David Cameron held a trilateral meeting here on the sidelines of the UN Summit on Climate Change.
During the course of warm and cordial exchanges, Prime Minister Sharif stressed the need for all parties to remain committed to the promotion of peace and stability in Afghanistan, notwithstanding the obstacles and impediments in the pursuit of this objective.He also assured the leaders of Afghanistan and the UK of his government’s strong resolve and commitment to ensure that the Pakistani soil was not used for terrorism anywhere.
In this context, Nawaz also apprised the two leaders of the successes achieved during the last one and half years in the military Operation Zarb-e-Azb launched against all militants and terrorists, without any distinction or discrimination. He also told the Afghan president that a warm welcome awaited him in Islamabad at the Heart of Asia Meeting on December 9.
Cameron spoke of his great admiration for Premier Nawaz Sharif and President Ashraf Ghani and lauded their strong commitment to work closely for the common objective of peace and stability in Afghanistan.
He assured both leaders that the UK would remain available with its support and assistanceprocess in Afghanistan.Nawaz Sharif and Ashraf Ghani also held a one-on-one meeting to discuss resumption of peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
The two leaders agreed to work with all those who would enter such a process as legitimate political actors and act alongside the Afghan government, against those who refuse to take the path of peace.
During the meeting, which was held in an atmosphere of warmth and cordiality, the two leaders held an extensive exchange of views, focusing mainly on the peace process in Afghanistan.
Nawaz affirmed his desire to establish a friendly cooperative relationship with Afghanistan. He stressed that Pakistan remained committed to working with Afghanistan as an equal and sovereign state. Pakistan regarded the National Unity government as the only legitimate and democratically-elected partner, he maintained.
The prime minister emphasised that peace and stability in Afghanistan remained his government’s key goal. Pakistan had committed to building a long-term partnership with its neighbours to build a stable Afghanistan in the interest of the entire region, he added.
President Ashraf Ghani reciprocated the sentiments and sought to develop peaceful, friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries by working with Pakistan. The prime minister briefed the president on the robust military campaign against all terrorists underway in Pakistan through the Operation Zarb-e-Azb, including those who use violence against Afghanistan.
He said that Pakistan and Afghanistan faced a common threat and assured that Islamabad would make all efforts to tackle the menace of terrorism facing the two countries.The two leaders agreed that economic and trade cooperation between the two countries was an important area of shared interest.
The prime minister emphasised that Pakistan was determined to work with Afghanistan to improve the regional economic links and was ready to take concrete steps to improve such links to the benefit of both countries.