Krishna, Khar may meet in New York

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna could meet his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly, a top Indian official said on Tuesday.

Indian envoy to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri said while there is no word yet of a formal bilateral meeting between Krishna and Khar, the "possibility" of a meeting in a social set-up "is very likely."

"There will be situations where they will meet at social events, various receptions, most certainly," Puri told a group of Indian journalists here ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's September 22-25 visit to the UN.

Puri said there will be "many occasions" for Krishna and Khar to meet at the UNGA even though a bilateral meeting is not yet on the schedule.

Krishna is arriving in New York on September 22 and will be here till the 27th, during which his agenda is packed with a slew of high level meetings. Puri said Krishna's meetings will include those with his counterparts in the G4, G-15 and G-77 blocs, BRIC and South Africa, IBSA and the Commonwealth.

A large number of countries have requested bilateral meetings with India and Krishna is expected to meet his counterparts from UK, France and some Arab nations, he added.

Puri said an impressive Indian contingent of political leaders and cabinet ministers will be in town for the next one week, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh is in New York in his capacity as member of the panel on enviornment and sustainable development. Minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah is also in the city.