Kuala Lumpur: In a bid to revive the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co- operation) summit, Pakistan on February 21 said it would soon invite India again to attend the meet which could not be held in Islamabad in January this year.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khursid Mehumud Kasuri told reporters on the sidelines of the run-up to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit that "Pakistan will once again issue an invitation to Indian Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to attend the SAARC summit".

"I want the summit to take place sooner rather than later," he said, adding dates for the summit have to be agreed by all the members.

Kasuri said, "We believe in the SAARC process and we will continue to persist with that. I am not a person who is easily discouraged and I am optimistic by nature."

"Last time, we had to postpone the summit as we did not get any response from India. Let us see how India reacts this time," he added.

Accusing Pakistan of stalling meaningful progress in regional economic co-operation, India stayed away from the January summit in Islamabad saying holding of the SAARC summit would not serve its purpose given Islamabad's stand on the issue.

PTI