PM meets New Zealand governor general, Maldives president
By IANSMonday, October 4, 2010
NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday met with visiting Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed and New Zealand Governor General Anand Satyanand, both of who witnessed the spectacular opening ceremony of the 19th Commonwealth Games here.
The first Indian-origin governor-general, Satyanand, met with Manmohan Singh in the morning, and discussed issues related to bilateral interests, as well as regional and multilateral issues. The governor-general is the representative of the British Queen, who is the head of state in New Zealand.
Satyanand had earlier met with members of the New Zealand sports delegation. He was also present at the welcoming ceremony for the team at the Games Village last week.
Later, the prime minister had a meeting with the Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed, who was very appreciative of the Games opening ceremony.
It was very spectacular and very beautiful, Nasheed told reporters.
He said the critics in the run-up to the Games had failed to understand that there was a new India and they were judging the problems as per the standards of the old India of decades earlier.
National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Principal Secretary to the prime minister T.K.A. Nair were also present at the meeting.
