South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Foreign Ministers have agreed that India should go ahead with its proposed SAARC satellite project even if all the SAARC countries do not become part of it. <br/><br/>In a meeting of SAARC Foreign Ministers held overnight in New York, India sought early convergence of the member states who have to provide details of their requirement for the SAARC satellite. The proposal for the SAARC satellite was mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Kathmandu SAARC summit in November last year.<br/><br/>Continuing with her bilateral and multilateral engagements in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA meeting, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held four bilateral and four multilateral discussions with leaders of various countries and groupings.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, Mrs Swaraj also participated in the India- Gulf Cooperation Council Meeting. She said that she considered gulf countries as extended neighbourhood of India. The leaders discussed security issues including the threat posed by international terrorism. External Affairs Minister pointed to the need for early finalisation of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN. Mrs. Swaraj is scheduled to speak at the UNGA tonight.

The SAARC foreign ministers have agreed that India should go ahead with its proposed SAARC satellite project even if all the SAARC countries don't become a part of it. In a meeting of SAARC foreign ministers held at New York today, India sought early convergence of the member states who have to provide details of their requirement for the SAARC satellite. <br/><br/>The proposal for the SAARC satellite was mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Kathmandu SAARC summit in November last year. Continuing with her bilateral and multilateral engagements in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA meeting, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today held four bilateral and four multilateral discussions with leaders of various countries and groupings. <br/><br/>Earlier, India hosted the meeting of Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) countries. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called for cooperation with CARICOM on text based negotiations for UN Security Council Reform. She also offered assistance to Caribbean countries in capacity building, IT, agriculture, pharmaceutical, agri-business, SMEs and other areas. Both sides agreed to enhance the level of trade between India and CARICOM countries as it was much below the potential.<br/><br/>External Affairs Minister also held meeting with Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Smt Swaraj called for coordination between India and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on global issues like terrorism, Climate Change and UN Security Council Reform. <br/><br/>India and the CELAC countries also discussed cooperation in energy, S&T, health care and agro chemicals among others. External Affairs Minister held bilateral discussion with her counterparts from Maldives, Sri Lanka and Syria. In her meeting with the Foreign Minister of Syria the refugee crisis came up for discussion. Smt. Swaraj also participated in the India- Gulf Cooperation Council Meeting held in New York today. She said that she considered gulf countries as extended neighbourhood of India.<br/><br/>The leaders discussed security issues including the threat posed by international terrorism. External Affairs Minister pointed to the need for early finalisation of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN. Smt. Swaraj is scheduled to speak at the UNGA tomorrow.