Archives

KATHMANDU, Wednesday (AFP) Nepal's Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa returned from a regional tour upbeat about a delayed South Asian summit amid easing tension between India and Pakistan.

Thapa said he had "successful" talks with leaders of Bhutan, India, Pakistan and SRI LANKA about resolutions to be passed at the January 4-6 summit in Islamabad.

"I got full assurances from them on agreements on the alleviation of poverty, the control of drugs and the control of terrorism," Thapa told reporters at Kathmandu airport.

The seven-nation South Asian summit was due to be held in January 2003 but host Pakistan postponed it after India hesitated to confirm its attendance.

India and Pakistan last week reached a ceasefire over their borders in divided Kashmir and Monday agreed to resume flights between the two countries from January 1.

"This has generated a very good atmosphere," Thapa said, adding that Pakistan International Airlines would "soon" be able to resume flights to Nepal.

Thapa is the outgoing chairman of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation because Nepal hosted the last summit in January 2002.

The prime minister said he planned visits to Bangladesh and Maldives, the other two members of the regional bloc, before the Islamabad summit.

www.ppilk.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries

Produced by Lake House
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager