NEPAL-SUMMIT/ARRIVALS Presidents of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives arrive in Kathmandu for SAARC summit

Record ID: 863352

  • Title: NEPAL-SUMMIT/ARRIVALS Presidents of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives arrive in Kathmandu for SAARC summit
  • Date: 25th November 2014
  • Summary: FLAGS OF THE SAARC COUNTRIES
  • Embargoed: 10th December 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nepal
  • City:
  • Country: Nepal
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACLXPZMOROSC9R5GGECMH7P96K
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  • Story Text: Presidents of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka were the first ones to arrive in Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Tuesday (November 25) for the south Asian summit on regional cooperation.
    Leaders from eight countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives and host Nepal will meet for two days from November 26 for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
    Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the first to arrive in the Himalayan country, hoping to infuse new life into a regional platform that in the past has been held hostage to the difficult relationship between two of its biggest members - India and Pakistan.
    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also makes his debut at a multi-national forum after being elected the war-torn country's head earlier this year.
    Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen arrived with his wife and was welcomed by Nepali senior officials.
    The summit is expected to boost regional cooperation and cement ties of the member nations.
    However, this time too the summit looks likely to be overshadowed by the possibility of a meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan.
    Mistrust between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, the two largest members of SAARC, have overshadowed the forum that was formed in 1985 to help develop the world's least economically integrated region.
    The two sides' unmitigated animosity has undermined greater regional cooperation, an agenda that was the founding principle of the eight-nation bloc of SAARC.
    India halted talks between the top diplomats of the two countries after the Pakistani envoy to New Delhi invited Kashmiri separatist leaders for consultations ahead of the proposed meeting.
    A meeting between the leaders is seen as crucial because it could help keep alive the idea of engagement between two players whose battle for influence in Afghanistan has a direct bearing on the lives of 1.8 billion people.
    Neither New Delhi nor Islamabad has ruled out the possibility of a meeting between their respective leaders on the sidelines of the summit, saying their leaders would be engaging with regional leaders in bilaterals alongside the summit.
    While SAARC summits are often little more than a backdrop to bilateral meetings between India and Pakistan, the bloc has tried to push forward cooperation in trade and commerce. This time the eight countries are expected to seal a host of agreements aimed at promoting deeper integration for peace and prosperity in the region.
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