PM Narendra Modi arrives in Nepal, focus on whether he will meet Pak PM Nawaz Sharif
Kathmandu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Nepal for a summit of eight South Asian countries. A few days ago, his team dropped plans for the PM's rallies at the birthplaces of the Buddha and the Goddess Sita, after controversy over whether he was gaining too much prominence inside Nepal.
The PM led a well-received foreign policy initiative in May by inviting the region's leaders, including Pakistan, to his inauguration.
The two-day summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Kathmandu that starts tomorrow brings together leaders from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
As at past summits, a focus of attention will be on whether the leaders of India and Pakistan take the opportunity for talks to reduce tensions between their nuclear-armed states.
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday refused to rule out a meeting between PM Modi and Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif.
Relations between India and Pakistan have deteriorated in the last few months with major violence on the border in Kashmir. Last month, 20 civilians were killed in the shelling.
During his first six months in power, Mr Modi has scored a series of successes, including repairing battered ties with Washington, but relations are proving tricky closer to home, where an assertive China has made inroads in recent years.
The summit will see a discussion led by some Nepalese lobbyists about giving China a bigger role in the SAARC group than its current observer status.
Mr Modi had planned visits to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, and Janakpur, the birthplace of Goddess Sita, the heroine of the Ramayana.
On Sunday, he formally dropped visits outside Kathmandu from his plans, citing scheduling issues. Nepal's government blamed security concerns for the controversy.
"The government wanted to have the civic reception in a smaller place because controlling the crowd in a bigger ground could be a problem," Prakash Adhikari, press advisor to Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, said on Tuesday.
