16th SAARC Summit kicks off in Bhutan

New Delhi, April 28, IRNA – The two-day sixteenth SAARC Summit kicked off Wednesday afternoon in Thimpu, capital of Bhutan with the participation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The summit held for the first time in Bhutan.

Manoucher Mottaki, the Foreign Minister is representing Iran which was admitted as an observer in April 2007, at the Association’s 14 summit hosted in New Delhi .

The Summit, marks silver jubilee, inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, will adopt a Declaration titled Towards a Green and Happy South Asia, which will focus on problems relating to environment and climate change.

400 delegates from South Asian Association Cooperation (SAARC) countries, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka are attending the meeting.

Beside, Islamic Republic of Iran, representatives from the observer states including China, Japan, South Korea, Mauritius, Myanmar, Australia, United States, and the European Union are also present.
SAARC was established on December 8, 1985 by Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.

In April 2007, at the Association's 14th summit, Afghanistan became its eighth member./end