Pak indicates Gilani may meet Singh in Bhutan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan dropped enough hints that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani may meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh during the SAARC Summit in Thimphu and said efforts will be made to restart the composite dialogue process.

As Gilani embarked for Bhutan via Nepal to attend the two-day SAARC Summit beginning Wednesday, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said: "We would like to reactivate the engagement process if the meeting takes place."

The proposed meeting between Gilani and Singh may not yield "instant results" but if the composite dialogue process between the two countries is reactivated, it will be a positive development, Basit said.

Officials accompanying Gilani told reporters that a meeting between Gilani and Singh is expected during the summit.

In a brief interaction with reporters before his departure from Chaklala military airbase in Rawalpindi, Gilani said his bilateral meetings with SAARC leaders will be scheduled soon.

Officials said the Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts and representatives of observer states on the sidelines of the SAARC summit.

Singh and Gilani had two brief encounters in Washington during the Nuclear Security Summit this month, but did not discuss any bilateral issues.

Pakistan has been stressing on the need for result-oriented talks between the two sides for resolving bilateral disputes and this position will be reiterated if the meeting between the two premiers takes place, he said.

Gilani said SAARC leaders will take up the agenda that was mutually agreed on during the Foreign Secretary-level talks. Food security is an important issue for the region and the leaders will take up the matter where they left it at the last SAARC summit, he said.

At Pakistan's initiative, the Colombo Statement on Food Security was adopted during the 15th SAARC summit in 2008. Gilani is expected to urge other heads of state or government to ensure region-wide food security.

Foreign Office spokesman Basit said SAARC represents 1.5 billion people of the region and is an important forum to expand cooperation between member states in many areas.

Gilani will spend tonight in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu before travelling to Bhutan.