Some defenders of bilateralism admit all this, but cling to one argument they regard as clinching that bilateral agreements are at least possible, whereas the chances of concluding Doha seem ever more remote.

ECONOMIST: Trade agreements

Business Recorder feels Mr Sharif "is rightly in place to reconstruct bilateralism with India" and The Express Tribune feels "he will have to promote his pro-peace policies which resulted in (ex-Indian PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee's historic visit to Lahore".

BBC: Press highlight Pakistan challenges

Although India insists on bilateralism even while sharing of river-flow data for flood forecasting, officials from Bangladesh have told the BBC that the idea has not worked well because they receive the figure of the flow only from areas nearby the Indo-Bangladesh border areas.

BBC: South Asian bloc active at climate meeting

Beyond the standard quick trips to summits, the inevitable ties with the United States and a military commitment in Afghanistan he inherited from his Liberal predecessor, the only hints he has given suggest a move away from Africa and towards Latin America, and a preference for bilateralism over multilateralism.

ECONOMIST: Stephen Harper does foreign policy