Friday, February 11 2005 19:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Feb 11, 2005) reiterated that India had pulled out of the Dhaka SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit, which was scheduled for last week but postponed indefinitely, "because the situation developing there was not conducive for holding the summit."

"We have already explained that the situation that was developing there was not conducive for holding the summit," Singh told reporters on his arrival at Bangalore airport on a two-day visit to the State.

The SAARC summit, scheduled for February 6 and 7, was postponed indefinitely for the second time after India announced its decision to stay away from it, citing security situation in Bangladesh and developments in Nepal.

Pakistan, the current chairman of the seven-nation grouping, had expressed surprise over India's decision, while Bangladesh had voiced its dismay.

India had stated that the decision was taken against the background of recent developments in its neighbourhood which had "caused us grave concern."

Earlier, the Prime Minister arrived in Bangalore on a two-day visit to the State. His engagements include attending a presentation on State's infrastructure projects today and inaugurating software major Infosys' corporate training centre in Mysore tomorrow.