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Delhi to host next SAARC summit in April
by Nazrul Islam

      Dhaka: The 14th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) will take place in the Indian capital New Delhi on April 3-4 next year. The Indian delegation in the SAARC Council of Ministers at its two-day meeting apprised that India would host the next Council of Ministers prior to the summit meeting. Afghanistan, the eighth member of the group, will also attend the 14th summit. The 13th summit had taken place in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka on November 13, the 12th summit in Islamabad on January 6, 2004, 11th in Kathmandu on January 6, 2002, 10th in Colombo on July 31, 1998, ninth in Male, Maldives, on May 14, 1997, the eighth summit in New Delhi on May 4, 1995, seventh in Dhaka on April 11, 1993. The SAARC was mooted in Dhaka and its first summit took place in the Bangladesh capital on December 8, 1985. India hosted the second summit in Bangalore on November 17, 1986 while the third summit was hosted by Nepal on November 4, 1987 in Kathmandu. The forth, fifth and sixth summits took place in Islamabad on December 31, 1988, Male on November 23 and Colombo on December 21, 1991, respectively.

Observer status for US, EU, S Korea
by Nazrul Islam

      Dhaka: The just-concluded Council of SAARC Ministers has approved the observer status of the United States, the European Union and Republic of Korea. With the new observers, the number of dialogue partners of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has risen to five. "We adopted guideline on observers, deciding to accept the requests from Republic of Korea, the US and the European Union," the Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan said. "Therefore, all four countries, including previously accepted China and Japan, as well as the EU will be invited by Bangladesh -as the current chair - to be present at the 14th summit to be held in New Delhi some time early next year as observer," Morshed added. Earlier, the SAARC standing committee at its fifth special session finalised a four-point guidelines for the observers. The council also approved the guidelines, the Foreign Minister said. It also finalised the modalities of admission of Afghanistan as the full member as well as the joint declaration to be signed between the top leaders of the seven nations and the President of Afghanistan before the next summit. The 13th SAARC summit in November 2006 had approved Afghanistan as full member, and China and Japan as observer of the group.

SAARC to settle India-Pakistan SAFTA dispute
by Nazrul Islam

     Dhaka: South Asian Foreign Ministers on Wednesday resolved unanimously that the disagreement between India and Pakistan over SAFTA will be settled at the next SAARC commerce ministers' meeting. Concluding the two-day SAARC ministerial council, Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan said that the council had considered various matters relating to economic cooperation and referred the India-Pakistan dispute over liberalised trade to the commerce ministers. "We discussed those matters and the council finally unanimously agreed that the regular meeting of the SAFTA ministerial council (comprising the commerce ministers of the SAARC members) for its consideration," Morshed Khan, who presided over the two-day session, said. India and Pakistan, two nuclear capable neighbours and influential members of the regional bloc, were locked in a battle of words over implementation of a regional free trade agreement following Pakistan being served with a notification on July 1, 2006, limiting tariff concession for India only on items on the existing bilateral positive list. India took it seriously and brought the matter to the notice of the SAARC standing committee and the foreign ministers meeting. Both Pakistan and India blamed each other for the perceived violation of SAFTA provisions. Emerging from the foreign ministers meeting, India's Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed, said that the matter has been referred to the commerce ministers' meeting. Asked when the meeting would take place, he said it must take place anytime before the next foreign minister's meeting.

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