Sunday, April 25, 2010
Foreign Secretaries meet for Saarc summit draft
4:46 AM | 
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Updated at: 1511 PST, Sunday, April 25, 2010 THIMPHU: The foreign secretaries of the SAARC member countries are currently holding a meeting on Sunday to consider the fine print of draft agreements due to be signed at the 16th SAARC summit scheduled for April 28 and 29. The agreements relate to cooperation on environment and on trade in services in the SAARC region. The secretaries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also considered the text of the final summit declaration. Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir is leading Pakistani side. The standing committee meeting will suggest amendments to the drafts made by the SAARC programming committee that sat on Saturday. On Tuesday, foreign ministers of the eight countries will propose further changes to the declarations and the drafts of the agreements-- one on cooperation on environment and the other on trade in services in the SAARC region. The resolution of the council of ministers will then go to the meeting of the top leaders on April 28 and 29 for final approval and adoption. The summit is expected to draw regional attention to the pressing issue of climate change, which is also the theme of the summit. Bhutan has also proposed a summit declaration entitled “towards a green and happy south Asia” and a separate ministerial declaration on climate change, according to news agencies. The SAARC agreement on trade in services is expected to enable the realisation of the region’s immense potential in service areas, such as health, hospitality, communications, computer and information services and air transport and augment intra-regional trade in services. The SAARC convention on environment is expected to promote cooperation among the SAARC countries in the field of environment and sustainable development. |
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