Wednesday, August 3 2005 12:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dhaka: Bangladesh yesterday (August 2, 2005) said it was confident of hosting the twice-postponed 13th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit on schedule in Dhaka in November.

"I am confident that the summit will take place," Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan said addressing the foreign press corporations here.

He said India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had long telephone talks with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on August 1, 2005 when he said he would be sincerely looking forward to coming to attend the summit, he said.

The summit of the seven-nation South Asian forum has now been rescheduled for November 12-13 in Dhaka.

Earlier it was postponed twice, the first due to Tsunami disaster and second following political developments in Nepal and the security situation in Dhaka.

"If there is no natural catastrophe, the summit will not be postponed on any political or other grounds," Khan said.

SAARC, founded in Dhaka in 1985, includes India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.