November 07, 2001

KATHMANDU: Nepal Wednesday formally announced the dates for the postponed 11th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit to be held in Kathmandu. The SAARC summit will now be held on January 4-6, 2002, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The dates for the summit were announced after consultation with all the six member nations of the SAARC.

All SAARC members agreed to January 4-6 for the 11th summit of SAARC, said the Foreign Ministry spokesman.
The 11th SAARC summit was scheduled to be held two years ago but was postponed due to India’s objection following political change in Pakistan.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said that all necessary preparations are being made to make the 11th SAARC summit a success.

Prior to the SAARC summit, meetings would be held at various levels.
The 11th SAARC summit will evaluate the performance of SAARC in the last 12 years and chalk out future strategy for increased regional cooperation, the spokesman said.
Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives are the members of SAARC.