India for Saarc summit between Mar 24-Apr 18
Our Correspondent, New Delhi
India has suggested that the coming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit, to be held in Dhaka, could take place sometime between March 24 and April 18.Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahmed yesterday said in a written reply in Lok Sabha that External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh had suggested that the summit could now be held during the recess of the Indian parliament in March/April. The current budget session of Indian parliament is expected to break for recess on March 24 and resume on April19. "Pakistan, as chairperson of Saarc, is required to initiate consultations with the host government (Bangladesh) and other member countries for identifying fresh dates of the summit which are mutually convenient to all," Ahmed said. He said it was only in an environment free from political turmoil and violence that a Saarc Summit would yield the desired results. "The decision (India will not participate in Saarc Summit in Dhaka) was taken in the background of recent developments in our neighbourhood..... and deterioration in security situation in Dhaka," Ahmed added.
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