In a big surprise turn to events, PM Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif met here today on the sidelines of the climate meet but no details were available immediately.
Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif shook hand in a lobby of the Conference Centre and then sat down on a sofa where they were seen talking animatedly.
“PM @narendramodi meets PM Nawaz Sharif at COP 21 in Paris,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted along with a picture of the two leaders shaking hands.
However, no official details were immediately available on this apparently unscheduled chat between the two leaders.
This is the first meeting between the two leaders after Ufa in Russia, where they held bilateral talks on the sidelines of multilateral conferences, and decided on number of steps to tackle forward the relationship.
Modi and Sharif shook hands in a lobby of the Conference Centre in the French capital and then sat down on a sofa where they were seen talking animatedly.
The exact details of the talks were not known but there is expectation here that it will help to ease tensions between the two nations after the planned meeting of their national security advisors was cancelled in August.
The brief meeting may help to arrange a cricket series between their teams in Sri Lanka next month and participation by India in the Heart of Asia Conference in Islamabad next week, some media reports said.
The brief meeting between Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif at the UN climate summit in Paris was hailed as a “positive development” by state media in Pakistan.
Pakistan Television (PTV) repeatedly showed footage of Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif seated together and exchanging views.
PTV reported that the meeting was held in a “cordial atmosphere” which it said was a “positive and happy occasion”.