Earlier, Modi hailed Vajpaye as a leader who distinguished himself in every role, while greeting him on his birthday.
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Modi was greeted warmly by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he arrived in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
Pakistan confirms surprise visit by Indian PM
Vajpayee’s 91st birthday. “Both leaders also underscored the need to understand the issues, concerns and desires of each other”. Sharif, flanked by his cabinet ministers, received Modi on the tarmac where military officers lined up along a red carpet.
Press Information Department via APPakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, right, meets Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, Dec. 25, 2015.
Personally touched by Nawaz Sharif’s welcome: Narendra Modi
The visit is a hopeful sign after the off-and-on talks between India and Pakistan , which suffered some setbacks in 2015. India and Pakistan both claim the Kashmir region in the Himalaya Mountains, and each country possesses nuclear weapons.
Modi and Sharif have had a stop-start diplomatic relationship since the Indian premier’s surprise invitation to Sharif to his inauguration last May.
The two leaders talked for about 90 minutes and shared a meal before Mr Modi flew home.
Official sources in Pakistan said the meeting was held in a very cordial atmosphere and was marked by enormous goodwill.
The two countries agreed on the location of a new Russian nuclear energy plant in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Moscow already building a nuclear plant in the state of Tamil Nadu. “Modi had no clue about the wedding”, he said.
“Breakfast in Kabul, tea in Lahore & dinner in Delhi!” Years earlier, PM Manmohan Singh had said in a speech in 2007 that he “dreamed” of a day he could have breakfast in Amritsar, Lunch in Lahore and Dinner in Kabul.
The Indian Prime Minister then left for Delhi in the IAF Boeing that had brought him.
The BJP General Secretary additionally stated that the connection with Pakistan wanted a change including that the Prime Minister has carried out an exquisite job by initiating this step.
“That’s like a statesman. And, all of us in the region – India, Pakistan, Iran and others – must unite… behind this common goal”, Modi said. The two had met briefly at Paris climate meet recently. The two leaders were later shown sitting together in a room looking happy and relaxed.
On his surprise visit, he was warmly welcomed by Pakistan leadership as well as from two other major political Parties including Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
The foreign secretaries of both counties are to meet in Islamabad at the end of the month, Chaudhry said. This was followed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad.
“It’s a small step because we don’t know what kind of sustainable progress is based around it. We don’t know if this is more than a grand gesture”, she told AFP.
“For its part, India is prepared to move our cooperation at a pace which Pakistan is comfortable with”. This was followed by the hush-hush meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Janjua in Bangkok on 6 December. The two held talks at the Pak PM’s home at Raiwind.
The last time an Indian prime minister visited Pakistan was in 2004.
Indian and Pakistani officials did not reveal the likely agenda. Today is, incidentally, also Mr. Vajpayee’s 91st birthday.
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The CEO of Pakistan’s Dawn Media Group, Hameed Haroon was also upbeat about the meeting.
