NEW DELHI, Aug 5: India and Pakistan on Friday held a third round of experts-level talks on nuclear confidence-building measures (CBM) here with extensive interaction on the issue of pre-notification agreement on missile tests. At the talks, the Pakistan delegation was headed by additional secretary foreign affairs Tariq Osman Hyder while the Indian side was led by Meera Shankar, additional secretary (UN) external affairs.
With both the sides showing flexibility, this round of talks on nuclear CBMs is expected to make some considerable progress, well-placed sources said. A joint statement is expected to be issued at the end of the two-day talks on Saturday. Talks on conventional CBMs will be held on Monday.
The progress made so far in the previous two rounds of talks was reviewed, besides deliberation upon other steps to take the process forward. Earlier, Mr Hyder called on Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmad Khan also attended the meeting.
On arrival here on Thursday, Mr Hyder said Islamabad looked forward to talks ‘with optimistic frame of mind’ and wanted ‘result-oriented process’ on nuclear and conventional CBMs.
He said both countries already had informal understanding and notified each other in advance, but “we need to formalize this.” He said: “We would look forward to concluding the agreement, which of course will be recommended to foreign secretaries of the two sides and signed later. On our part, we have shown the understanding to come to such an agreement.”
When the experts from the two sides met in December in Islamabad, they agreed to push forward plans for a nuclear hotline but failed to reach an accord on advanced warning of ballistic missile tests. In January, the two countries exchanged lists of their nuclear facilities in line with an agreement signed in 1988 prohibiting attacks against each other’s nuclear installations.—-Agencies
NEW DELHI, Aug 5: India and Pakistan on Friday held a third round of experts-level talks on nuclear confidence-building measures (CBM) here with extensive interaction on the issue of pre-notification agreement on missile tests. At the talks, the Pakistan delegation was headed by additional secretary foreign affairs Tariq Osman Hyder while the Indian side was led by Meera Shankar, additional secretary (UN) external affairs.
