When the External Affairs Ministry Vijay Gokhale (Secretary Economic Relations) was asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting the newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Vijay Gokhale said that there are 'no plans' of any meeting between the two leaders at WEF 2018. The MEA official also added that there will be no meeting between the US President Donald Trump and PM Modi as the two leaders won't be present on the same day.

The MEA official also added that there will be no meeting between the US President Donald Trump and PM Modi as the two leaders won't be present on the same day

On his first visit to World Economic Forum (WEF), Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the opening plenary on January 23 and later will be holding bilateral meetings with Swiss President, Alain Berset. However, PM Modi is expected to miss a meet with his Pakistani counterpart Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and close aide US President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, commenting on the reports of PM Modi’s meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, an official from external affairs ministry (MEA) said that there are ‘no plans’ of any meeting between Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers. Reacting to the questions if Modi and Trump will be sharing a ‘hug’ again at WEF, the official said that ‘there were never any plans for the two leaders to meet.’

The annual WEF meet which will witness an Indian Prime Minister after 20 years since HD Deve Gowda attended the event in 1997. The WEF will be beginning from January 22, with PM Modi to address an open plenary on January 23, Tuesday. Talking to the media, External Affairs Ministry Vijay Gokhale (Secretary Economic Relations) said, “As far as I am concerned there are no plans for meeting with the Pakistan Prime Minister.” The meet between the Indian Prime Minister and Pakistani PM Abbasi was being anticipated as the relationship between the two countries seemed to be going through a rough surface following series of attacks by Pakistan-based terror groups and incidents of ceasefire violations. The violations have resulted in massive bloodshed on both the side.

Reacting to the questions if PM Modi would be meeting US President Donald Trump, Vijay Gokhale said that the two leaders will not be there on the same day. Just like PM Modi’s first visit to Davos, this would be US President’s first visit to attend the event since Bill Clinton in 2000, and first for Donald Trump. Gokhale further added, “This is a multilateral event and the Prime Minister’s central message will be that we are an economy that can be an engine of global growth. We want others to participate in our growth and we also want to participate in others’ growth”. He also said, “Our focus has always been in a global economy that is open and inclusive”.