Nepalese Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey has arrived in Dhaka to invite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to attend the 18th Saarc summit to be held in Kathmandu in November.
“He will officially hand over the invitation letter to the prime minister tomorrow [today],” Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
The Saarc programme will begin on November 22 and the summit will be held on November 26 and 27 when heads of states and governments of eight Saarc member countries are expected to attend.
“Prior to the summit, there will be a senior officials’ meeting and a foreign secretary-level meeting followed by Saarc ministerial one,” said another senior official of the Foreign Ministry.
The ministerial meeting will finalise the declaration of the Saarc summit and submit it to the summit for approval, he added.
“This year the Saarc summit will focus on connectivity as there is a thrust from the member countries to integrate the region for the welfare of the people,” he said.
The member countries are negotiating to finalise two instruments – Motor Vehicle Agreement and Railway Agreement – for getting approval in the summit.