SAARC leaders sign four agreements and adopt 20 article declaration

South Asian foreign ministers signed four agreements and adopted a 20 article declaration today at the concluding session of the 17th SAARC Summit held at Addu City, Maldives.

inaugural session of SAARC Summit in Maldives

The agreements included SAARC Agreement on Rapid Response to Natural Disasters, SAARC Agreement on Multilateral Arrangement on Recognition of Conformity Assessment, SAARC Agreement on Implementation of Regional Standards and SAARC Seed Bank Agreement.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai did not attend the closing session of the summit due to reports of an approaching blizzard and bad weather in his country.

South Asian heads of state attending the summit were President Mohamed Nasheed of Maldives, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Yoser Thinley, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Nepali Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The South Asian leaders declared to intensify efforts to fully and effectively implement South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA).

All the observer states delivered their statements at the summit’s closing session this afternoon. The observers included Australia, Burma, China, European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, South Korea and the United States.
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Written by: Ibrahim Nazim

11 November 2011, Friday

15 Thw al-Hijjah 1432