Nawaz, Modi likely to meet in Davos next month

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will meet yet another time in Switzerland next month where they will be together to attend the 46th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos-Klosters.

The three-day meeting will commence on January 20. The diplomatic sources told The News that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had accepted the invitation for attending the forum while New Delhi had also shown its consent for participation by its Prime Minister Modi. Over 2,500 leaders from business, government, international organisations, civil society, academia and the arts will participate in the forum. The theme of the forum this year would be “Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” the sources said. Some political leaders and business magnates from Pakistan and India will also attend the forum.

Meanwhile, it is likely that the foreign secretaries’ talks between Pakistan and India will take place after the Davos meeting of the two prime ministers. India is insisting that the foreign secretaries’ talks that would determine the course of future dialogue of Pakistan and India should be held in New Delhi while Pakistan is asking it take place in Islamabad. The rendezvous of the dialogue could become a bone of contention between the two capitals and the prime ministers would resolve it.

In an interesting development, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr TCA Raghvan is leaving Islamabad for good later this month as he has attained superannuation and in all probabilities he is being engaged by the Indian Ministry for External Affairs as an adviser. India’s Ambassador to Bhutan Gotum Bambanwala has already been designated to become the new Indian envoy to Pakistan.

He will assume the assignment in Islamabad before the turn of the month. The Government of Pakistan has granted him agreeman’ (consent) for his posting in Pakistan.