President Pervez Musharraf urged the need to make SAARC into a more effective and viable mechanism for promotion of peace, development and progress of the region when he met Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama in Islamabad yesterday.

The Foreign Minister is visiting Pakistan as a Special Envoy of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa to extend an invitation to Pakistani leadership to attend the 15th SAARC Summit to be held in Colombo.

President Musharraf felicitated the Sri Lankan government on hosting the 15th SAARC Summit.

He emphasized the need for SAARC to develop inter-regional and intra-regional linkages and building of trust and understanding amongst its member states.

President Musharraf noted with appreciation that the forthcoming SAARC Summit will focus on issues such as the food and energy security, which were common challenges for the entire region.

The President noted that friendly relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka were marked by close proximity of views and understanding on regional and international issues.

The President also expressed support for the efforts of the Sri Lankan government in its fight against terrorism and to preserve its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister conveyed to the President the good wishes of the President of Sri Lanka and apprised him of the preparations underway for the 15th SAARC Summit.

He said that the forthcoming SAARC Summit will focus on current challenges faced by the region such as energy and food security, terrorism, etc.

Issues such as SAARC Development Fund, regional connectivity, commercial and economic cooperation will be the special focus of the discussions at the Summit.

Recalling the 12th SAARC Summit hosted by Pakistan, the Foreign Minister said that it was a ‘turning point’ in promoting regional cooperation in South Asia, which has since gained considerable momentum.