The South Asia Center held the first face-to-face water dialogue between India and Pakistan in Lahore, Pakistan, on September 27-28, 2012.

The meeting was co-chaired on the Indian side by Salman Haidar, former foreign secretary, Government of India, and on the Pakistan side by Sartaj Aziz, former foreign minister of Pakistan. The meeting convened key experts, policymakers, and other stakeholders from both sides. There were nine Pakistani participants, including a former Indus Water Treaty commissioner, a former Pakistan secretary of water and power, two former high commissioners of Pakistan to India, and a leading global expert on climate change and sustainable development, among others. Twelve participants from India included a former chairman of the Central Water Commission, a former federal cabinet minister of Industry, Energy, Environment and Forests, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Heavy Industry & Public Enterprises, several representatives from social science and public policy think tanks, as well as academics focusing on climate change, environmental history and sustainable development.

There was unanimous agreement on the critical nature of issues facing both countries on issues related to water.  A joint statement was agreed to and will be sent to both governments by the project co-chairs. The report will be publicly released in due course and sets the agenda for future cooperation in water, food security and energy issues.

This project is supported by the Ploughshares Fund.

We would like to thank the Hashoo Group for their continued support for both of these Track 2 meetings.