Post SAARC, India abandons Pakistan yet again: Reports

A myriad of things have been a bone-of-contention for India and Pakistan. Both country’s ties doesn’t seem to ameliorate any sooner. A recent pull out was when India abandoned the key regional conference focused on sustainable development being held in Pakistan. Bangladesh and Iran are also amongst the list of who have dissented to attend the same.

Reportedly, the Express Tribune informed that ministry officials of science and technology had earlier  confirmed New Delhi’s participation in the conference but announced India’s decision to back out, only later.

An official said, “Just hours before the meeting was due to start, the Indian delegation cancelled their trip saying that their head delegate had contracted food poisoning.”

modi-sharif_dff27b79-295b-11e5-a8da-005056b4648e

The three-day session of the Governing Council of the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) started in Islamabad on Monday . The objective of the conference is to promote innovation for sustainable development and discus strategy of the APCTT.

If sources are to be believed, all of the 14 member countries of APCTT were sent due invites. Nonetheless, India, Bangladesh and Iran decided not to attend the meeting.The governing council, which meets yearly, advises on the anticipated developments in the future and also reviews the working of the centre located in India under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

In November, India boycotted the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit that was to be held in Islamabad.

Media reports suggest that India has been determined to abstain from meeting or meeting Pakistan officials at multilateral engagements hosted by Islamabad.

However, government officials in New Delhi clarified the various indentures being created. It is suggested that India is not in a position to attend the meeting due to scheduling issues.

The other countries attending the meeting are China, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The meet finds it’s purpose was to approve projects which will be undertaken in 2017.

Amongst the five projects, India had recently submitted a ‘Feed the Future India’. This project is focused on bolstering food security in the least developed countries, through the formulation of an accelerator program in India. This scheme was funded by a whopping $1.5 million.

Advertisement

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here