Monday, April 25 2005 13:15 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) summit is likely to be convened in Dhaka in the last week of May or first week of June with India expressing willingness to attend the twice-postponed meet during this period.

The Government has conveyed to Bangladesh, the current Chairman of SAARC that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh can attend the summit after Parliament session ends on May 13, official sources said in New Delhi today (Apr 25, 2005).

There is also consensus that the summit should be held before the onset of monsoon in Bangladesh in the second week of June, they said.

"The most likely period in which it can be held is last week of May or June first week," the sources said adding if it is not held during this time, the delay in holding the summit could be long.

The sources maintained that law and order situation in Bangladesh has improved in view of which India decided to attend the summit in Dhaka.

External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh, who had met his Bangladeshi counterpart Morshed Khan on Saturday (Apr 23, 2005) on the sidelines of the Asian-African Summit, had said India was ready to accept any suitable date for the summit if it was acceptable to other members of the seven-nation grouping.