Indian foreign minister Krishna arrives in NY to attend UNGA meet

New York, Sep 22 (PTI) Indian External Affairs
Minister S M Krishna has arrived here to attend the UN General
Assembly session during which he is expected to make a strong
pitch for UN reforms, particularly that of the Security
Council for whose permanent membership India is a strong
contender.
Krishna, who arrived here Tuesday, will be in New
York for 10 days and has a packed schedule involving about 15
UN-related and multilateral meetings like G-15, SAARC, NAM,
Commonwealth, G-4, disarmament conference, India-Brazil-South
Africa (IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC).
He is likely to make an important policy declaration
on disarmament, particularly on the Fissile Material Control
Treaty, sources told PTI without divulging details.
He will also hold a number of bilateral meetings with
several of his counterparts.
Krishna is also expected to meet his Pakistani
counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, according to Indian
diplomats, who said that arrangements were being worked out
but nothing had been "confirmed."
India has sought a meeting between Krishna and Qureshi
on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting,
diplomatic sources said.
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal
conveyed New Delhi's request during a meeting with Pakistan
Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir in Islamabad recently.
The Foreign Office has conveyed this to the highest
levels in the civilian and military leadership, the sources
said.
While Krishna will be in New York till September 29,
Qureshi will be there till September 30. PTI AKK/RHL
SAK