The 17th SAARC Summit will conclude in Maldives today. The closing ceremony of the event will take place late in the afternoon. A joint Declaration is expected at the end of the Summit.
On the concluding day today, four important Agreements are to be finalized. These include two agreements on regional standards, one agreement to establish a rapid response mechanism to deal with natural disasters, and an agreement to establish a SAARC Seed Bank.
The 17th SAARC Summit is currently underway at the Equatorial Convention Centre in the Addu City of Maldives.
The Summit was inaugurated on Thursday afternoon and was attended by all Heads of States and Governments.
Prime Minister has called upon the SAARC leaders to work in unison to offset the impact of the present global economic crisis.
Addressing the SAARC Summit in Maldives, Dr. Manmohan Singh said, imaginative and innovative ways have to be created to maintain the tempo of growth.
Strengthening of trade relations and connectivity amongst the member states remained the central theme of the summit.
Today the Prime Minister had bilateral talks with Nepalese Prime Minister Babu Ram Bhattarai this morning. The meeting lasted for about 30 minutes where issues of mutual interests were discussed.
The SAARC leaders have proceeded for retreat before the conclusion of the Summit.
On the sidelines of the Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has had a series of bilateral meetings with the heads of States and governments of the SAARC member states.
The Indo-Pak bilateral talks however, remained the focus, where the two leaders agreed that they will take the process of dialogue which began at Thimpu even further, which so far have been productive and result-yielding.
After the concluding session of the SAARC today, Prime Minister will fly to Male for a bilateral visit to Maldives.
This is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Male for bilateral talks in the last nine years. He is also scheduled to address the Peoples’ Majlis, the Parliament of Maldives on tomorrow.
