With India seeks to reinvigorate ties with the SAARC nation, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Wednesday put all speculation to rest of a possible India-Pakistan bilateral meeting at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu by confirming that no formal talks between the two nations will be held. He had earlier said that India is for a meaningful dialogue and that meaningful dialogue bilaterally would mean something very specific.


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As the buzz around the likely bilateral meeting between the two leaders had overtaken the summit, Akbaruddin had said that Pakistan knows what meaningful dialogue means as they know us and understand us. Our emphasis has always been on meaningful dialogue, it has meaning in diplomacy.


The comments from the MEA came hours after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif put the onus on India for the resumption of talks between the two countries, saying that the "ball is in India's court" while adding that the cancellation of talks earlier was a 'unilateral' decision.


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  • Pakistan has blocked the key proposals that India had pitched - integrate energy grids and free up road and rail movement.
  • Just an hour after Indian PM Modi finished his address at the SAARC summit in which he had said that as SAARC we have failed to move with the speed that our people expect and want, Pakistan proved him and his concerns right.  
  • MEA Spokesperson while talking to presspersons said that there is structured meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.
  • Concluding his address, Modi says that we must replace cynicism with optimism in the entire region.
  • When we join our hands and walk in step, the path becomes easier, the journey quicker and the destination closer, Modi says.
  • The Prime Minister now address the gathering in Hindi, and with his powerful oratory and potent symbolic gestures says "paas hone se saath hone ki taaqat zyaada hai.(More imp to be together than to be near each other). I say this to my country too"
  • The five pillars that SAARC, Modi says, rests on - trade, investment assistance, cooperation, connectivity. "This is call of our times"
  • Modi urges to work together to fulfil the pledge taken to combat terrorism and trans-national crimes.
  • "As we remember 26/11, must keep commitments on security for all South Asia," he says. Today, as we remember the horror of the terror attack in Mumbai in 2008, we feel the endless pain of lost lives, he adds.
  • Modi now talks about the Mumbai terror attacks on its sixth anniversary.
  • Modi pushes for a south asian university in every SAARC country and offers his promised SAARC satellite by 2016, also a conference next year on space tech apps.
  • Saying the infrastructure improvement is one of his priority in India, Modi jokes about wanting to travel to Kathmandu by road, and says that it made many officials in India nervous. Must improve border infrastructure, The PM says.
  • Why goods from India to Pakistan go through other countries, take so long, Modi asks at the summit, and stresses on thinking of what we are doing to consumers and environment.
  • Modi talks about the connectivity between the SAARC nations and cites example of cheap travel to Bangkok or Singapore and more expensive in the region (SAARC). Modi says to speaking to each other on phone within the SAARC nations is dearer compared to making a phone call to other countries.
  • In his debut address at the summit, Modi says that cynicism and skepticism should be out of place in a region throbbing with optimism.
  • The Indian Prime Minister raises key issues in his address.
  • The future I wish for India is the future I wish for our entire region, Modi says.
  • Modi wishes good luck to Sri Lankan President Rajapaksha for the upcoming presidential election in the country.
  • Modi says that it is his first SAARC summit, but it is the second time I'm meeting the colleagues here.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his maiden address to the SAARC gathering.
  • Hasina points out that agricultural growth has helped eradicate abject hunger and poverty. She says that Bangladesh has set year 2021 target for itself to become a middle income country.
  • Bangladesh President Sheikh Hasina begins speaking at the summit.
  • Afghanistan's, country terribly struck by terrorism, President says will not allow our territory to be used for terrorism, will not allow any proxy war to be waged on our territory.
  • Every problem is not a nail that must be hit with a hammer, Afghan President says.
  • Ghani, like other SAARC leaders, stresses on the need for dialogue in south Asia.
  • Newly elected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks at the summit.
  • Human rights is a moral issue, but used as a political tool. Interventions are planned in the guise of Human Rights concerns, Rajapaksha says.
  • The Sri Lankan President compliments PM Modi on SAARC satellite idea, says must pass agreement on energy cooperation,focus on health and sanitation. 
  • Rajapaksha says that he's looking forward to a continued engagement of the SAARC nations.
  • After Nawaz Sharif, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksha begins his address at the SAARC summit.
  • The gap between the promise of SAARC and its accomplishments need to be built for the greater good of the people, Sharif says.
  • Sharif emphasis on the need for development of rural areas, healthcare and empowering women and says, "instead of fighting each other we must fight diseases, poverty, illiteracy."
  • We must strengthen regional cooperation between the SAARC nations, the Pakistani PM stresses and says Pakistan committed to dispute-free Asia.
  • SAARC must capture the imagination of our people, Sharif says. 
  • Sharif says that the theme selected for the 18th SAARC summit is very important for all the SAARC nations to build strong ties with each other.
  • Sharif congratulates Nepal for holding the SAARC summit and expresses his gratitude to the Nepali PM Koirala.
  • Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif begins his address.
  • Along with PM Narendra Modi, leaders of other SAARC nations Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Bhutan are present.
  • PM Modi arrives at the venue of the 18th SAARC summit, Rastriya Sabha Griha, in Kathmandu.