Wednesday, May 4 2005 08:32 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dhaka: Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan yesterday (May 3, 2005) spoke to External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh over telephone discussing dates for holding the stalled South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh's private news agency UNB said.

Khan, as Foreign Minister of the host country, has proposed two sets of dates, September 4-5 or November 13-14, for holding the 13th summit, it said quoting diplomatic sources.

Khan, who also spoke to Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, told Singh that Bangladesh also sent the proposed dates to Pakistan, current chairman of SAARC for securing the concurrence of the member-States, the agency said.

On bilateral issues, the two Foreign Ministers agreed to resolve all bilateral irritants through dialogue. They also agreed to take necessary steps to keep the border peaceful, according to UNB.

This is the second direct contact between the two Foreign Ministers after their meeting in Jakarta on the sidelines of Afro-Asian Summit last month.

Khan invited Singh to visit Dhaka, preferably before the SAARC summit and a formal invitation was sent to him yesterday through diplomatic channel, UNB said.