The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday expressed hope that the meeting between Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, will go a long way in ensuring peace and stability in the region.
"The Foreign Secretary has already visited Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan is next in his tour of all the SAARC countries. Bilateral issues will feature as a part of these talks between Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan. We hope this will ensure peace and stability in the region," BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told ANI.
"The focus is to really move ahead on the SAARC initiatives in all the SAARC countries. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) had taken this initiative to send the new foreign secretary on a mission to improve relations with all the SAARC countries and to move the SAARC agenda fast forward," he added.
Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar will be holding talks with Pakistan's Foreign Secretary, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry later today as part of his SAARC Yatra.
Jaishankar is also expected to meet Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz.
The Foreign Secretary began his four-nation SAARC Yatra on Sunday with Bhutan, holding discussions on regional cooperation and bilateral ties in Thimpu.
After his visit to Islamabad today, Jaishankar will travel to Afghanistan on March 4.
He will undertake visits to Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal later.
