Bangladesh News

Representatives of the five observers of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) will deliver speeches at the 14th summit of the forum in New Delhi on April 3-4 when Bangladesh hands over the Saarc chairmanship to India.

Sources said China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and the European Union will attend all the meetings of the summit. This is for the first time in the history of Saarc that its observers are going to attend and address the summit.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed will lead the Bangladesh delegation at the summit.

Quoting Saarc Secretariat, the sources said each of the observers will be allowed to deliver a four-minute speech in presence of the heads of state and government at the inaugural function of the summit on April 3.

All observers have already confirmed their participation in the Saarc summit.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, South Korean Foreign and Trade Minister Song Min-soon, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher and the European Union’s Deputy Director-General of External Affairs for Asia and Latin America Herve Jouanjean will attend as well as address the summit.

China and Japan were approved as observers in the 13th Saarc Summit in Dhaka held in November, 2005.

In the 13th Saarc Summit, the South Asian leaders also decided to include Afghanistan as the eighth member of the grouping.

At a Saarc Standing Committee Meeting in Dhaka in August last year, South Korea, the United States and the European Union were given “observer” status along with China and Japan.

Meanwhile, foreign ministry officials said New Delhi has completed all preparations to host a series of Saarc meetings and the two-day summit, during which Afghanistan will join as the eighth member and China, Japan, Korea, USA and the European Union will participate as observers.

The Saarc Standing Committee, comprising the foreign secretaries of member states, is scheduled to meet on March 31-April 1 in the run up to the 14th Saarc Summit.

The foreign secretaries will review a set of agenda to be considered for the 14th Saarc Summit and all the decisions done at the Dhaka summit.

Preparatory meetings for the summit, according to the foreign ministry officials, will begin on March 29 with the two-day sitting of the Programming Committee that assists the standing committee.

The Programming Committee, comprised of director generals (Saarc) of member states, is to finalise the calendar of activities and look at the Saarc Secretariat matters, financial as well as administrative.

The Programming Committee will also submit recommendations of action on the reports of the technical committees to the Standing Committee. Progress made at various meetings of the Saarc working groups and the technical committees would also be discussed.

The South Asian leaders will have a retreat on April 4 at the Hyderabad House in the Indian capital after which a joint declaration would be issued.

The meeting of the Council of Ministers preceding the summit will be held on April 2. Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury will attend the meeting.

The highlight of the forthcoming summit will be the formal induction of Afghanistan as the regional grouping’s eighth member.

Another important aspect of the upcoming summit would be the representation of leading world powers including the US, China, EU, Japan and South Korea for the first time as observers.