Nepal will press for the early resumption of the 11th summit of seven SAARC nations that was to be hosted by the kingdom in 1999 while urging the “early resumption of the full SAARC process,”, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Nepal will also urge the resumption of a meeting of foreign ministers of the region at the parley. Foreign Secretary Narayan Shumshere Thapa left for Colombo Monday to take part in the delayed two-day third special session of the SAARC standing committee beginning Thursday.

The session was earlier postponed as a mark of respect for King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya who were killed in the June 1 Narayanhiti Royal Palace shoot-out.

India opposed the Kathmandu summit after a military take-over in Pakistan by Gen. Pervez Musharraf. New Delhi has since recognized the government of  Musharraf who met Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a summit in Agra last month and to be pursued  again in Pakistan.

Bilateral differences between India and Pakistan, the two largest members of the South Asian regional body, have marred  regional co-operation. The standing committee will be preceded by a two-day meet of the preparatory committee of senior officials from Tuesday.

The meeting will discuss the budgets for the Kathmandu based SAARC secretariat and five regional centres for 2001 and expansion of SAARC visa exemption scheme among other things, the Foreign Ministry said.

Besides Nepal, India,  Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Maldives are other members of the  group.