Friday, January 14 2005 10:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit, which was deferred because of the tsunami disaster, is now likely to be held on February 6 and 7 in Dhaka, official sources yesterday (Jan 13, 2005).

External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh yesterday held telephonic conversation with other SAARC leaders for firming up the dates for the Summit.

The customary one-day retreat in between the Summit when the leaders meet informally is not slated this year in view of the tsunami tragedy.

India has conveyed these two dates also to Pakistan, which is the outgoing Chairman of the seven-nation grouping.

The summit was originally scheduled to be held from January 9 to 11 but was postponed in the wake of the tsunami tragedy that struck three member countries - India, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Bangladesh said on December 30 that Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has decided to postpone the summit.

In view of pre-occupation of the leaders with the tsunami relief efforts, it has been proposed to curtail the duration of the summit to two days from three days, the sources said.

The meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the SAARC countries - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan - will be held a day before the summit, they said.

This will be preceded by meetings of the Standing Committee and the Programming Committee.