New hope for early SAARC summit
[27 Feb 2001]

The stalled SAARC process was nudged forward when New Delhi agreed to have a meeting of Foreign Secretaries of member countries within the next few months. This followed the weekend visit to Delhi of President chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka who is also the current Chairperson of SAARC.

Following a successful completion of the SAARC Foreign Secretaries meeting, the second level of talks between the Foreign Ministers will take place, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Harendra Corea said.

SAARC figured prominently in the talks between the visiting Sri Lankan President and the Indian leadership. The last SAARC summit which was scheduled to take place in Kathmandu in 1998 was vetoed by India following the military coup in Pakistan.

South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), started in 1985 under the patronage of the late Bangladeshi Premier Zia Ur Rahman. It is the only active regional alliance for over one billion people living in south asia. During its 13 years, SAARC stands far behind when compared to other regional alliances.

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