Gilani, Barack Obama to meet at Seoul nuclear summit

Washington:  US President Barack Obama would meet Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in South Korea next week, the White House said. The meeting scheduled for March 27 is the highest level interaction between the leaders of the two countries after the November 26 incident last year in which 24 Pak soldiers were killed due to a NATO cross border fire. The incident resulted in a number of retaliatory steps from Pakistan including shutting down of the crucial NATO supply route and closing down of the secretive Shamsi air base. [caption id=“attachment_254285” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Reuters”]  [/caption] The relations, as  a result, reached a low point. According to the White House, the Obama-Gilani meeting will be an opportunity for the US and Pakistan to continue high-level consultations on areas of mutual interest. “In particular, the President looks forward to reviewing our efforts to support an Afghan-led reconciliation process, and to pursue an end-state in the region that advances security and prosperity,” the White House said. At the same time, White House officials said that no bilateral meeting has been scheduled between Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. During his visit to Seoul to attend the second Nuclear Security Summit, Obama is scheduled to hold a number of bilateral meetings including those with leaders from S Korea, China, Turkey and Russia. PTI