DUBAI – Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will be visitingthe United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday, announced an Indian spokespersonon Twitter.

The visit comes at a time when Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah MahmoodQureshi reached the Gulf state today (Saturday) on a three-day officialtrip.

“At the invitation of his counterpart, EAM @DrSJaishankar will be visitingAbu Dhabi on 18th April 2021. His discussions will focus on economiccooperation and community welfare,” wrote India’s Ministry of ExternalAffairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Twitter.

Media reports claim that a meeting is expected between the foreignministers of two nuclear rivals located in South Asian region.

Earlier this week, UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al Otaibarevealed that the UAE is mediating between India and Pakistan to help thenuclear-armed South Asian rivals reach a “healthy and functional”relationship.

He said in a virtual discussion with Stanford University’s HooverInstitution on Wednesday that the UAE played a role “in bringing Kashmirescalation down and created a ceasefire, hopefully ultimately leading torestoring diplomats and getting the relationship back to a healthy level”.

“They might not sort of become best friends but at least we want to get itto a level where it’s functional, where it’s operational, where they arespeaking to each other,” he said.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported citing high-level officials that topintelligence officers from India and Pakistan held secret talks in Dubai inJanuary in a new effort to calm military tension over the disputedHimalayan region of Kashmir.