SAARC Summit gets under way today
The 15th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Summit will get under way today in Colombo under the theme ‘Partnerships
for Our People’. The committee meeting for the senior Foreign Service
officials of the participating countries will be held today and
tomorrow.
The standing committee meeting will be held on July 29 and 30 and
will be attended by the Foreign Secretaries of the member nations.
The Foreign Ministers council is scheduled to be held on July 31 and
August 1 in Colombo between the Foreign Ministers of the member
countries. The summit will be held with the participation of heads of
states from SAARC countries on August 2 and 3.
Among the topics that will be discussed at the summit, prominence
will be given to Combating Terrorism, Climate Change, Food Crisis, and
Poverty Alleviation. Seven observer nations including the European
Union, United States, Japan, South Korea, Mauritius and Iran will also
be present at the summit.
Other events such as a cultural festival, a film festival, a trade
fair, a fashion show, a food exhibition and other events are also being
organised alongside the main event.
The heads of states and governments of SAARC countries have confirmed
their participation in the summit. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
will hand over the SAARC Chair to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa
during the summit. India hosted the 14th SAARC summit in 2007.
Around 1,000 delegates from the SAARC countries, India, Bhutan,
Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, and
hundreds of journalists are expected to participate in the summit.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was
established when its Charter was formally adopted on December 8, 1985 by
the Heads of State or Government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The 14th SAARC Summit was held in April
2007 in New Delhi. Afghanistan was admitted as a member country of SAARC
at this summit.
SAARC provides a platform for the peoples of South Asia to work
together in a spirit of friendship, trust and understanding. It aims to
accelerate the process of economic and social development in the member
states.
(See if you can identify the flags of the member states).
- Janani Amarasekara |
