Pakistan ready to hold SAARC Summit

KATHMANDU: Pakistan said that it is ready to hold the long-delayed summit of the South Asian Association of Regional Corporation (SAARC).

During a meeting with Esala Ruwan Weerakoon, Secretary-General of the SAARC, on December 22, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan is committed to hold the SAARC Summit but said that the artificial obstacles created in its ways should be removed.

The last SAARC summit was held in Kathmandu in 2014.

On the occasion, the Foreign Minister recalled the important and constructive role played by Pakistan in realizing the true potential of SAARC and making it a useful organization for regional cooperation and mutual benefit based on the principle of sovereign equality.

He reassured the Secretary-General of Pakistan’s strong support for regional cooperation and urged him to accelerate the pace of the SAARC process.

The Secretary-General SAARC thanked the Foreign Minister for sharing his views on different SAARC related issues and assured to make concerted efforts to strengthen cooperation among Member States so as to realize the full potential of SAARC.

The SAARC Summit was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in 2016. But after the attack at an Indian Army camp in Uri on September 18 that year, India expressed its reluctance to take part in the Summit.

The Summit was postponed after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also decided to participate in the meeting.