SAARC ministerial meeting begins

The ministerial level meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has kicked off on Thursday in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The chairman of the Council of Ministers of SAARC, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, handed over the Chair to Rohitha Bogollagama, the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka in an inaugural ceremony Thursday.

Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat also participated in the ministerial meeting.

The council meeting will finalise the agendas for the summit.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Thursday afternoon has left for Colombo to take part in the 15th SAARC summit.

PM Koirala is leading a 35-member Nepalese delegation to take part in the summit, which is scheduled for August 2 and 3.

PM Koirala is also expected to meet Indian Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh on the sidelines of the Summit.

According to reports, the 15th SAARC summit is expected to finalise four different agreements, which are an agreement on SAARC Development Fund, South Asian regional standards organisation, taking on board Afghanistan into South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) pact and mutual legal assistance to deal with criminal activities.

Established in December 8, 1985, the SAARC is an economic and political organization of eight countries from South Asia - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Bhutan.