PM Thapa in Pakistan, SAARC Summit to begin Sunday

January 3, 2004
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Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, the current chair of SAARC, arrived in Pakistan Saturday. The three-day long 12th Summit of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) will kick off Sunday, January 4, 2004.

PM Thapa’s Pakistani counterpart Mir Jafarullah Jamali welcomed him at Islamabad airport, agencies said.

Along with PM Thapa, Bhutanese Prime Minister Gigme Y. Thinley and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee have also arrived in Pakistan, the agencies said.

Prime Ministers of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives will shortly be arriving in Pakistan to take part in the regional grouping’s Summit, the agencies said.

The Summit is expected to approve the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), a Social Charter and the additional protocol of SAARC Convention on Terrorism, among other documents.

Nepal’s Ambassador-at-large Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa and Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya are already in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, a news bulletin in Nepal Television (NTV) will telecast the 12th SAARC Summit “live” at 11 am Sunday.