tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80929326464082115102011-04-21T15:42:03.766-07:00E BUSINESS ZONEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295620283835312856noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092932646408211510.post-3091211775751098392008-07-27T08:58:00.000-07:002008-07-27T09:04:19.777-07:00South Asian summit in Sri Lankan capital<br /><br />COLOMBO, July 27 The summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) got underway here on Sunday with the 2-day parley of senior foreign affairs officials of respective nations, officials from the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said. <br /><br /> The 15th SAARC conference was inaugurated with the participation of the 8-member nations, hosts Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan. <br /><br /> Grace Asirwatham, a Sri Lankan senior foreign ministry official was elected chairman of the 33rd session of the ministerial council meeting. <br /><br /> The heads of state or government of SAARC nations are to have their sessions on Aug. 2 and Aug. 3. <br /><br /> With the theme of "Partnership of Our People", the summit would focus on the elimination of terrorism, poverty, energy crisis and climate change in the backdrop of regional cooperation. <br /><br /> The meeting got underway amidst tight security in the Sri Lankan capital where some 12,000 security personnel having been deployed to ensure the safety of the regional leaders. <br /><br /> A special traffic plan in the capital came into force Sunday morning with stringent checks done on vehicles and individuals.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8092932646408211510-309121177575109839?l=saarcsrilanka.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>E BUSINESS ZONEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00295620283835312856noreply@blogger.com0