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Monday, July 14, 2008 - 5.45 GMT |
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FM invites Maldivian President to attend
SAARC Summit |
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The Maldives decided to concede its turn to
Sri Lanka to host the 15th SAARC Summit as a
symbol of its longstanding and close
friendship with Sri Lanka, during the
country’s 60th anniversary of independence
this year. This was disclosed by the
President of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul
Gayoom when Foreign Minister Rohitha
Bogollagama called on him on July 10 to hand
over the formal invitation from President
Mahinda Rajapaksa to attend the forthcoming
Summit meeting in Colombo.
Minister Bogollagama briefed President
Gayoom on the need for more constructive
engagement of the Observer States on the
SAARC agenda. To this end, he stated that an
informal meeting between the Foreign
Ministers of SAARC and Observer States is
planned.
The Maldivian President welcomed this
initiative, and while appreciating the
briefing on the issues, expressed confidence
that the Sri Lanka Summit will be an
outstanding success. President Gayoom
explained to the Minister, the political
process in the Maldives, following the
adoption of the new Constitution leading to
multi-party elections this year.
Foreign Minister Bogollagama called on his
Maldivian counterpart, Abdulla Shahid to
also formally extend an invitation to attend
the SAARC Summit in Colombo.
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