Tough neighbours talk easy in Paris

The neighbours shook hands, after months of hard talk over cross-border terror, in a lobby of the Conference Centre and then sat down on a sofa where they were seen talking animatedly. However, no details about the talks between them were available immediately. “PM @narendramodi meets PM Nawaz Sharif at COP 21 in Paris,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted along with a picture of the smiling leaders shaking hands. 

Earlier in the day, US President Barack Obama met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting, which took place at 2.45 PM local time (7:15 IST) Paris, besides focussing on climate change also touched upon other issues like bilateral ties and topics of regional and global importance like terrorism. Prior to his talks with Modi, Obama also held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Following this, the critical UN climate summit aimed at reaching a historic deal to limit greenhouse gases began in Paris on Monday with host France expressing hope that world powers can reach a deal to tackle climate change. 

Nearly 150 world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi are attending the conclave. French President Francois Hollande arrived at the venue early on Monday to welcome the leaders. “Success is not yet acquired but it is within our reach,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who took over the presidency of a 12- day summit, said. Besides Modi, other leaders, including Obama, Xi Jinping and Putin are attending the opening ceremony of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21).