SAARC SUMMIT IN PAKISTAN
Meeting next week to fix dates
DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT
Foreign Ministers of eight countries belonging to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) are set to meet in Nepal next week to fix the dates of the next SAARC summit to be held in Pakistan. The meeting, to be held in Nepalese city of Pokhara, will also discuss other issues related to the regional body, said sources concerned. Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali will represent Bangladesh at the meeting, they said. At the 18th SAARC summit held in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, in November, 2014, it was decided that the next summit would be held in Pakistan. Pakistan has proposed three clusters of dates for the summit, said the sources, adding that all the proposed three clusters of dates are in November, this year and the foreign ministers are most likely to fix one of the clusters of dates in the meeting next week. According to the proposed first cluster, director general-level programming committee meeting will be held on November 6 followed by foreign secretary-level standing committee meeting on November 7-8, foreign minister-level council of ministers meeting on November 9 and the summit will be held on November 13-14. As per the proposed second cluster, the first meeting will be held on November 13 and the summit will be held on November 17-18. According to the third cluster, the first meeting will take place on November 20 and the summit will be held on Nov 24-25.
