Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Shah Mehmood Qureshi had an informal dialogue on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday.
The Indian minister brought sweets for Qureshi because she wanted to do away with the bitterness with which the two countries talk sometimes. "Today [I] met Sushma Ji. She had a complaint that we sometimes talk in a bitter manner. She brought sweets today so we could also speak sweetly," Qureshi said, according to the Foreign Office.
Qureshi also said that Pakistan made it clear that the country still prioritizes dialogue with India. "Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in his very first speech that if India takes one step forward, we would take two steps forward."
The two met after the two-day event came to a conclusion. They were initially scheduled to meet on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last September, but the Indian side had backed off accusing Pakistan of 'ill-intentions'.
Qureshi on Tuesday departed for Kyrgyzstan to represent Islamabad at the Shanghai Cooperation Operation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting.
The two-day event was attended by members of the SCO to approve resolutions to be adopted by the council of heads of states at the SCO meeting scheduled to be held in June.
Qureshi also presented Pakistan’s point of view at the event. He also held bilateral talks with counterparts from other member states and held a one-on-one meeting with SCO general secretary Rashid Alimov.
The Indian minister brought sweets for Qureshi because she wanted to do away with the bitterness with which the two countries talk sometimes. "Today [I] met Sushma Ji. She had a complaint that we sometimes talk in a bitter manner. She brought sweets today so we could also speak sweetly," Qureshi said, according to the Foreign Office.
Qureshi also said that Pakistan made it clear that the country still prioritizes dialogue with India. "Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in his very first speech that if India takes one step forward, we would take two steps forward."
The two met after the two-day event came to a conclusion. They were initially scheduled to meet on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last September, but the Indian side had backed off accusing Pakistan of 'ill-intentions'.
Qureshi on Tuesday departed for Kyrgyzstan to represent Islamabad at the Shanghai Cooperation Operation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting.
The two-day event was attended by members of the SCO to approve resolutions to be adopted by the council of heads of states at the SCO meeting scheduled to be held in June.
Qureshi also presented Pakistan’s point of view at the event. He also held bilateral talks with counterparts from other member states and held a one-on-one meeting with SCO general secretary Rashid Alimov.