Concluding session of 15th SAARC Summit commences

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-03 21:27

COLOMBO -- The concluding session of the 15th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit started here on Sunday.

According to a schedule released by SAARC, it would consider the report of council of ministers, which took place from July 31 to August 1.

The foreign ministers from SAARC member countries will sign four agreements, which were discussed at the council of ministers.

The agreements include Charter of SAARC Development Fund, Agreement on the Establishment of South Asian Regional Standards Organization, SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and Protocol on Accession of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area.

The summit will also give consideration to the meetings held by ministers from SAARC member countries in the past year.

The venue for next SAARC summit will also be unveiled at the concluding session.

The eight members of the SAARC are expected to sign the 15th SAARC Summit Declaration, which will give a clear picture about what they have discussed and achieved at the summit.

The 15th SAARC summit opened here Saturday with the theme called "SAARC: Partnership for our people." Food security, terrorism, energy, environment and other issues were discussed at the meeting, aimed at promoting regional economic and political cooperation.

The SAARC was established when its charter was formally adopted on December 8, 1985 by the heads of state or government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the SAARC at the 14th summit in New Delhi in April 2007.